Kiara Pride-Lander: Book 1
by Kimberly Joan Amethyst
Summary: This is chapter 1 of Kiara Pride-Lander's story. This is a crossover between Potter and Lion King, with also some other different crossovers as books and chapters continue, but Potter and Lion King are the main ones. Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING, apart from my own characters. Please R&R and review. Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

**Kiara Pride-Lander**

**And the Mirror of Wishes**

**By K.J.A.**

**Hey guys. K.J.A here again with another fanfic. This one I already started as all of you already know, but I promise you, this is the replaced and updated version of this chapter. The story may very well start out as flimsy, but it well get better as time goes on. There are many similarities between this and Harry's story, but I assure you that I have tried to make a few differences along the way. This is mainly a Harry Potter/Lion King crossover, but there are also other different things mentioned from other books and movies that you will notice along the way. So, I hope that you all enjoy this story, and on that note, let's begin. Enjoy.**

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**Chapter 1**

**The Origins of the Girl who lived – That's me!**

Hello, I'm Kiara Pride-Lander. This is about my troubles and strife's with the darkest witch of all time, Lady Zira. My story will be told over seven books, and will feature my friends who have stuck with me from the start and it will also feature others who have been involved in my life who have been my allies and friends, or my enemies. So sit back, relax, and find out how I defeated the darkest witch of all time. I also did interviews for this book with the Animal Spirits* of my loved ones and close friends, so that's how I know what happened here, just so you know. But first, I need to describe to you what the Pride-Lands looked like, back before Zira tore my family apart and now when the world is peaceful once more.

Once upon a time, I was born in the most beautiful lands ever. You're probably all thinking right about now that this is going to be another fairy tale, aren't you? Yes? Well my dear readers, I think you'll find that you are all completely… WRONG! So keep reading to find out what the Pride-Lands were really like.

Before I tell you about the magic that these Lands possess, I must first of all tell you that our family have been taught - father to son, mother to daughter, etc. - that we should respect all living creatures, even if they try to attack us; but they only do that in defense for themselves, and of course, their young too, when necessary. We have men who protect us from the vast majority of creatures that live here, for which we are grateful for, for every obvious reason that you can think of.

The Pride-Lands are beautiful; lush green grass, a fresh, flowing river and a perfect blue sky, which – on a good day – never had a cloud in sight. However, these are dangerous lands, for they have wild, untamed animals that could potentially eat you! But never fear, for my people keep them far from us who live and make a living out here. These lands have a certain magical quality about them; for you see, they are enchanted! When dead leaves fall from the trees, they join together and make beautiful, petite leafy messenger birds, which fly from tree to tree, to send an important message to the current King and Queen of the Pride-Lands. The recently deceased King or Queen watches from above and has all control over the weather. In the spring and summer, fresh wild flowers would grow, their different warm and cold colours melting together beautifully to make a perfect collage. And when the wind blows through the trees, the flowers and trees sway lazily in the breeze. And, because the Pride Lands are in Africa, it is practically sunny all year round. The perfect paradise to live in, I'm sure we can all agree. And when the petals dropped from the flowers, they would merge into people and deliver messages to the King and Queen of the Pride-Lands, too. But it wasn't always a paradise, as you will find out.

Enough about the Pride-Lands, because I am sure that many of you want to know about my story? Well, wait no more, because it starts with my parents, who lived in the most respected and most beautiful place in these lands, Pride Castle, which over-looked the rest of the Pride-Lands. It was a gold building with red tiles on the roof tops. This is to represent the rising and falling of the sun, as every Pride-Lander has been told for centuries.

In life, my parents were called Simba and Nala Pride-Lander. They loved me with all their hearts. My father, Simba, had my face. He had a lovely wide smile which always mad him look twenty years younger, had light brows and brown coloured hair and light amber eyes (I on the other hand, had dark amber eyes which I had inherited from my grandfather Mufasa). I inherited my father's mouth (but mine is thinner), his fringe and his golden tinge from his skin. He was a strong man who looked after his beloved wife and lands, and he couldn't be any happier with how things could be.

My mother, Nala on the other hand, was admired for her fair beauty, which I have inherited from her. I have her same rich peach colour that she had from her face and her rosy cheeks, too. She also had waist-length golden hair which always seemed to shimmer in the sunlight. She also had orange-shaped eyes, whish were aqua-marine blue. You will have noticed that I used "in life" when I started to talk about my parents, and that is because they died for me during the big battle at – well, I'll talk about that more in the final book. Anyhow, back to the story. I had to talk to them and many others whilst I was at school so that I could get my facts right.

On the Friday 30th July 1993, I was born. Two weeks later, Simba and Nala decided to throw a celebration party for my birth, which many great witches and wizards attended. One of these great witches and wizards was my old headmistress, Professor Susan Louise Jane Winifred Crighton – who was a mother herself, and she was like a mother to me, and three of my best friends. At this time she had recently had two daughters – who I will mention later on in this story – and she adopted a boy, too – who I will also mention later on in this story. These four people are very important characters, so keep up. Crighton's husband, Matthew Dawson, was babysitting the three, so he couldn't be there when he wished dearly that he could have been, seeing as it was a great party, with music and dancing and a buffet. The moment was as perfect as a golden vision painted into a dream. And then, that moment was gone, vanished into the darkness that tries to consume us all, for a dark shadow was slowly crossing over the world and _especially_ the Pridelands.

This is where Zira comes in. You see, on Monday 3oth May 1994, I was with my bumbling babysitters – Timon and Pumbaa – who were arguing over nothing as usual. I was very intelligent and escaped my babysitters. I crawled to a space under a tree and sat under the shade of it – for it was a very hot day – when I heard something near me. I couldn't speak yet so I started to look around me. Then a woman showed up – Zira – pointed her wand at me, said something and then…vanished without a trace. I screamed and became unconscious. One of my grandmothers, Sarabi – wife to my dead grandfather, Mufasa, who was King before my father – found me. For those of you who are wondering, she was looking after me, which was why she was staying with my parents.

"You fools!" she yelled at Timon and Pumbaa, "you can't let a child like this out of your sight, not even for a second! What were you two playing at?"

"Well, er –"

"We were just – "

"Oh, never mind!" Sarabi said, waving an impatient hand at them. "The important thing is is that we get her to Simba and Nala and that they know so that we can do something about this. Quickly," she said, handing me to Timon, "take Kiara, go to Pride Castle and tell them what happened. In the meantime though, I will be back in my cottage in Wales with Sarafina, because my son wants me there to keep an eye on things for him over there. Now go! Go!" she yelled at them and with that, Timon and Pumbaa took me back to my parents and my grandmother Sarabi went back to Wales to see what would happen.

My grandmother Sarabi was tall and thin. She was a kind and gentle woman, but could be a hard woman when she needed to be. She had shoulder length, light brown hair which was straight, her skin was a dark peach colour and her eyes were the same colour brown that my father had inherited from her.

My grandmother Sarafina looks just like my mother did; the long golden shimmering hair, the orange-shaped, turquoise-blue eyes, the pale peach skin and her tall, thin willowy grace that my mother always had when she lived. Even though I mentioned before that she was admired for her beauty, I forgot to mention that she was a bit like me, her mischievous attitude, her love of life and all creatures, to be able to see deeply into people for who they really are, not just judging on their outward appearance and her cheeky tongue, love of adventure and always wanting to be part of the action and wanting something exciting to happen – well, most of the time anyway. But I have my father's curious side and I also have his wisdom in me that has helped me through. Also my parents' bravery, strength, and courage lives on in me, which has helped me stand up, face the world and has made me prepared for anything.

Of course my parents were furious; not just because my babysitters had abandoned me, sort of, but also that Zira had attacked me. They were horrified that she had done such a thing to a baby, and they needed some professional help and advice on the matter of my safety. So they sent a quick message to Crighton, and she was there within five minutes of getting the message, and arrive via the Floo network.

According to my parents, she was with the trio that I was talking about before. "Simba, Nala, sorry I took so long, for I was arguing with my husband, because I've got another child on the way, and we had to keep the children at home with one of the servants, because my husband had to go back into work, and – what is it?" for she had suddenly seen my parents gloomy expressions. "Come now you two, it can't be that bad what happened to your daughter, can it? I mean really, what's the worst that could have –?" Crighton gasped at this point for she had seen what Zira had done to me.

"I now see why you two called me. Well, you both did the right thing."

"What can we do, Susan? You have to help us," Nala said urgently.

"I will do what I can, I assure you. Simba, did you happen to place some sort of protection in your daughter either the day or after she was born?" Crighton asked him.

"Yes, I did. But how does that help with anything that is going on here exactly?"

"It helps Simba, because by putting that protection in your daughter, you have saved her life and you have stopped Zira's reign of terror and panic for the time being, which helps us all."

"Yes it does Susan, you're right. But how can you help our daughter?" Nala asked, tears streaming don her face. Simba put one hand around his wife and held her to his chest.

"What would you like me to do?" Crighton asked in a business-like fashion.

"Well, anything. Susan, we want you to do anything in your power to save our daughter. Her safety is our first priority and she means everything to us. Please, for all our sakes?" Simba asked eagerly, whilst Nala simply nodded into his chest.

"Would you agree to risk or do anything to save Kiara?" Crighton asked, still business-like.

"Yes," Simba and Nala said at the same time.

"Nala?" Crighton asked, looking down at my mother.

"Yes?" she replied warily.

"I know that you won't like this idea much, but what if I sent Kiara to your sister, Mavuto? I know as well as you do that she will be difficult and that you won't agree to it, but you and Simba agreed that you would both risk or do anything to save your daughter's life. And besides that, there is still the matter that there are many of Zira's followers out there who are just as dangerous as Zira was herself. If she was with your sister and her family, however, I could place a protection around that house where not even Zira could find your daughter, until she is seventeen. I mean, I would be just as willing as anyone else in our world to take her in, but if she was with a Muggle, well, let's just say that she would be in safer hands."

Through this speech, Simba and Nala were pondering this and then Nala said, "But Susan, they would never treat her right. I know my sister, and I know for a fact that she would never even attempt to accept Kiara. And it has been years since I have seen Mavuto, and I don't know –"

"But look at the facts, Nala," Crighton said. "If she was with your sister, don't you think that we would all sleep better at night knowing that your daughter was in a safer environment and that she will join us when she is ready? Think about it, both of you now, the safety that she would be in."

They thought about it and looked at each other, and nodded. Then Simba turned to Crighton and said, "But there must be someone else Susan. Anyone."

"Well…" Crighton said slowly, turning around and looking out of the window, "I suppose that she could go and live with your mothers. That way, she will be happy and well treated. What do you say?"

My parents looked at each other again, and without making a single sound or movement, they agreed. So, my mother turned to Crighton, and said, "Very well, Susan. What do we do next?"

Crighton turned to face them once more and pulled something official out of her bag. It was a contract. "We all need to sign this. This contract clearly states that we do not tell _anyone _about this. This excludes Kiara, but don't fret, for I will tell Kiara herself when she is ready to know the truth."

Simba and Nala nodded, and then signed their names. Then Crighton took the quill and signed her name on it, too. She then put the contract back in her bag and spoke to my parents again.

"I will have Mina come for her later on today. I am sorry for this and I know that it's too soon, but the sooner that she is better protected, the better. Do you understand?"

They both nodded, and Crighton bowed her head.

"Good. Once again, I am truly sorry. I have to go and speak to Mina now. I shall see you soon. I am sorry."

"Susan?" Simba said,

Crighton looked at him questioningly, and after a few deep breaths, Simba said to her, "Tell Zazu to ask some of the servants to take the old motorbike that I have in the basement to Mina. She needs it much more than I do now, anyway. And tell Mina that she can keep it, too."

Susan told him that she would do what he asked and left. Once the door was closed, Simba and Nala looked at each other.

"Simba?" Nala whispered. Her face was pale and the rosiness was wiped from her cheeks she looked horrified at my father and tears sparkled once again in her eyes.

"I know," he sighed, hugging my mother and crying himself. They both looked at me whilst I was sleeping in the cot that they had put me in whilst Crighton was talking. I had a flame-shaped scar on my head from where Zira's curse had backfired, and I still have it now. The grief that my parent's had that day was shared around the castle that they lived in and was represented in the sky: the clouds had covered up the sky. They were dark and stormy.

As promised, Mina came to collect me that very night. Though the time was not stated during the conversation that Crighton and my parents had, it was six o'clock that night when Mina came to collect me.

"Hello Simba, Nala," said Mina, who is a half-giantess. She is my friend even now. "Crighton told me what happened. So, is she ready? Have all her things bin packed?"

"Yes. She's ready to go," Simba said in a choked voice. He and my mother had been crying all day, worried about the time when they would have to say goodbye to me.

Mina frowned at Simba. "I'm sorry that it had ter come to this, but this is what Crighton ordered. Well, let me see her then."

Simba picked me up and placed me carefully in Mina's arms.

"Aw, she looks just like you Nala, except that she has your face, Simba," Mina said to my father. "She looks so beautiful, even as a baby. And that's where –" Mina touched the mark that Zira had cast. "Poor dear. So young to be struck and taken away from her family."

"Mina, do you think that me and Nala could say goodbye to our daughter, please?"

"Oh, of course. Forgive me." Mina placed me back in Simba's arms, and he passed me to Nala.

"Take care of yourself, my darling. I will never forget you. And I love you," my mother whispered. Then she kissed the top of my head, held me tightly to her chest and gave me to my father.

"Never forget who you truly are, Kiara, for you are the most important thing in the world to us. We both love you and we are doing this for your own safety, even if we don't like what we're doing. We will never forget you and me and your mother hope that we will be reunited soon. Darling, take care of yourself. My protection will be in you forever, and me and your mother will always be part of you. Goodbye, Kiara." He then sang me a lullaby, which went thus:

_"Hush now, my baby,_

_Be still, love, don't cry,_

_Sleep as my last words are so mean._

_Sleep and remember my last lullaby,_

_So I'll be with you,_

_When you dream."_

He then kissed me on my head and handed me to Mina.

"Take her now, Mina. You may use the large broom that has been made for your own benefit," Simba said to Mina. He then hugged Nala and they both cried into each other's arms.

"All right, then," Mina said to them. She then pulled out a number of blankets and wrapped them around me, and then she took me to the broom with a compartment in it for me to fit into. Then she took off and we were flying.

"Oh Simba, what if we never see her again?" Nala croaked.

"I know Nala. But we have to keep hoping that we will see her again. I mean who knows what the future will hold…" they both looked out the window as lightning crashed across the sky

And now, later that night, in a little cottage in Wales, where my grandmothers were living. This location is top secret, so no one can ever find it.

Sarabi had told Sarafina what had happened, for she had been sitting nearby and reading the day's paper. They were both extremely worried; but relief came in the shape of Crighton when she arrived and told them that she and my parents had made and agreement that I would be living with them. She gave them a letter which described things that I should be told when I would be old enough to know about. They nodded their heads in understanding, and before Crighton left, she told them that she would be back at midnight that night for, as you all know, Mina would be bringing me to them. She then left; they read the letter and they went out and bought the necessary things for me when I was a baby. And then, after the hustle and bustle of the day's activities, they ate, and then sat in silence, with nothing but the radio on for comfort, well into the night, waiting for that knock at the door to come.

Five minutes before midnight approached, Crighton had appeared on the opposite pavement out of nowhere, wearing robes of midnight blue. She had waist-length dark brown-silver hair emerald-green eyes and was tall and thin, with a pointed hat and cloak, both black with high-heeled black boots. She had a heart-shaped face and fewer lines around her face and hands despite how old she was.

She took a few steps forward and pulled out what looked like a blue memory stick, but when she flicked out the end of it and pointed it toward the sky, she clicked it, and all the lights from the surrounding streetlamps below were sucked into it. She put it back in her bag which she always carried with her on important missions and re-pocketed it. The only source of light now shone from a single porch lamp on a hill.

Crighton heard a "meow" from somewhere near her feet. When she looked down, she saw a tabby cat sitting there. She chuckled and said, "I should have known you would be here, Professor Darbus."

Where a cat had been seconds before, a woman now stood. She had a firm look on her face, blonde hair tied back in a bun, square spectacles and jade green robes. "Good evening, Professor Crighton," said Darbus.

They started to walk. "Are the rumours true, Susan?" asked Darbus. She wouldn't believe what anyone else said until she heard it from Crighton herself.

"I'm afraid so, Professor. The good and the bad," said Crighton.

"And the girl?"

"Mina is bringing her," Crighton replied.

"Do you think it wise to trust Mina with something as important as this?"

"My dear Professor, I would trust Mina with my life," smiled Crighton.

"And what about your children, Susan? Where are they?" asked Darbus.

"My husband is looking after them again. You know, he said that he could see something in our eldest child – something special. I can't see it yet, but I suppose that time will tell." And he couldn't have been more right, but we'll get to that later.

"Indeed. Are there any plans for more children?"

"As a matter-of-fact, I've got another two on the way. We plan to have them in July, so that I don't have to miss anything."

"I will cover for you, Susan, and – Do you hear something?" Darbus asked, as a loud roaring sound was descending all around them.

Crighton was the first to look at the sky, and smiled at the figure of Mina, flying in on my father's enchanted motorbike. Darbus looked at where Crighton was staring at, and watched as the giantess landed gently, before getting off the thing. Mina then went to grab the blankets that carried me in them. As soon as she turned to face the two women, she said. "Professor Crighton, Professor Darbus."

"Ah, Mina. No problems were there, I trust?" sighed Crighton in relief.

"No, ma'am. She has been asleep ever since we left. Try not to wake her. There you go." Mina then placed me in Crighton's arms.

Darbus and Crighton had a look at me then. Clearly visible in the light coming from the porch lights was the flame-shaped scar. Darbus gasped and Crighton looked at her.

"Is that where –?" Darbus began.

"Yes, she'll have that forever. Besides, scars come in useful. I've got one myself just above my left knee." Crighton then walked with me to my grandmothers' cottage and was just about to knock on the door, when Darbus jumped lightly in front of her. .

"Not here Susan, surely? Is this really the best place for her?"

"It's the only place that's safe for her," said Crighton. "Besides, I know that Sirabi and sarafina will take good care of her here, and when she is ready, she will attend Dragon Mort Magical Academy, like her parents before her."

"This girl will be famous. There won't be a person in our world who doesn't know her name, just like Harry Potter."

"Exactly. And she – just like Harry – will be far off better growing away from all that, until she's ready."

Then, she stepped out of Darbus' way, and walked to the door of the cottage. She knocked in a business-like fashion and my grandmother Sarabi opened the door.

"Ah Susan, you're here with her."

"Do you have everything ready that she will need?"

"Don't worry, me and Sarafina have everything prepared for her. And don't worry, we will tell her what she needs to know when she is ready to know." Then Crighton handed me over to my grandmother Sarabi.

"Good. I will, of course, be checking in every now and then with both of you to see how she is doing," said Crighton.

"Until you call again, then," said Sarabi, and the two witches laughed. Then, they said their goodbyes, and the door closed with me safely in my father's mother's arms.

The three women gazed sadly at the closed door for a moment, then Crighton turned to the other two and said, "Well, we've done all that has needed to be done here. We might as well go and join in with the festivities."

"Yeah, I'll be seein' yeh after the baby's born, Professor Crighton, ma'am." Mina then blew her nose loudly, bad goodnight to Crighton and Darbus and took off into the night. When she had disappeared from view, Crighton and Darbus looked at each other.

"I shall expect to see you at Dragon Mort in three months, Professor," Crighton said. Darbus gave a curt nod, dried her eyes and transformed into the tabby cat. Once she had rounded the corner, Crighton took out the Put-Outer, clicked it, and the valley below was alight once more. She then walked to the opposite pavement, turned back and stared at me, just visible from where she stood. "Good luck, Kiara Pridelander. I am terribly sorry that I have left you here, but it is for your own good, and when the time is right, you will rejoin our world for good. But in the meantime, you are safe," she murmured, and then, with the light breeze that followed, she was gone.

I slept lightly in the cot where my grandmothers put me as a light breeze rustled outside. I had no idea what I would expect, but the years I spent with my grandmothers were wonderful. Some of the memories – not all, but indeed some, for you will find out why in chapter two – are the most precious and I will never push them aside. I didn't know this at the time, but five years later, after the war with Lord Voldemort had finished for good, rumours finally started to spread about my story, and witches and wizards all over the world were streaming into the Pride Lands from far and wide to see where my story began. And it was then, and only then that those very witches and wizards from all over the world were coming together in private, singing my praise and raising their glasses, toasting, "To Kiara Pridelander, The Girl Who Lived!"

In the Pride lands, however, it was an entirely different story.

My grandfather, Mufassa, was always watching over the lands and he had placed an enchantment over the Pride lands ever since I was taken away, and he would only take the enchantment off the Pride lands when I came back and Zira was defeated. Until then, the storm clouds stayed there, permanently.

My parents wanted to avenge me, so they tried to see who had snitched to Zira about where I was. It did not go well for them and they ended up somewhere horrible, and that only the facts that they knew that they were innocent and that they knew that I was alive kept them sane, but that did not stop them grieving over me, for they said that they grieved over me every day when they were in prison.

And they also said that their lives were destroyed that day. And that shining star that used to shine over the Pride lands was now gone and lost forever. And me, Kiara Nala Pridelander, their darling, innocent, sweet, only daughter – they never saw me again, until I was thirteen years old. It was a long and rather unpleasant time for both me and my parents. And now you all know how my story began.

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**OK, so that was chapter 1 done. The story will get better as it progresses, like I've said. Please R&amp;R and I will write again very soon. Peace.**

_***Animal Spirits: If a witch/wizard dies and doesn't wish to be a ghost, they can come back as Animal Spirits, which is basically the animalistic interpretation of a person's soul. It starts off in life where they get this special pendant, which they receive when either their patronus is revealed to them, or something bad happens to them and they wish to be more active outside their frozen body. Pretty cool stuff, right? Anyway, there will be more on the A.S. stuff later. Right now, though, on with the story.**_


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

**Carol's Birthday Trouble**

**Hey guys. K.J.A. here again. I hope that you are enjoying this so far. Here is the next chapter. Oh, and B.T.W., I'm sorry if Mheetu's not in this, but I forgot all about him, and I've been writing this for a few years now, and I can't find a place to fit him in. He may come up in another book yet, I don't know. So sorry about that, once again. Oh, and just so you know, I've updated chapter 1 and have added a few more things in there, too, so go ahead and check that one out. Anyhoo, here's chapter 2. Enjoy.**

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So, for ten long years, most of the time was happy for me. My grandmothers treated me well; they remembered my birthdays and Christmas' and got me what I wanted for them both. I loved them dearly and they loved me back. They always did what they could to protect me the best that they could. They told me some things about me, though; they told me that I was a witch and that I was one of the most important and respected people in the wizarding world, they told me that my parents were respected people and that they were also a witch and wizard and they told me that because I was a witch that I didn't have to go to a Muggle school. Life sure is sweet when you're living in the wizarding world.

The small cottage that we lived in is part of a small village in Wales (for legal reasons, I cannot tell you which part of Wales its in, so sorry about that); everyone gets along well and I was friends with both Muggle and wizarding folk in that village – and I still am as a matter of fact. It's a very small community, so that is why everyone knows each other so well. It's a beautiful place, that village – it's top secret because I used to live there, so I can't say exactly what village it is but it is in the south of Wales in case any of you are wondering. It does tend to rain a lot there, but when the sun shines through the clouds after the rain, and there are dew drops on the grass and leaves on the trees, the valley looks beautiful. My favourite place in that valley is this massive tree on top of a hill not far from the back yard of my grandparents' cottage. They owned a few acres of land, so the tree was theirs to own. I used to have picnics there every Sunday in the spring and summer when it wasn't raining and I also used to bring friends over, climb the tree and play around it. Plus, I even had birthday parties there under a big tent when it was raining. Ahhh … I loved that tree … shame that they had to cut it down because it was ruining the land with its large roots that were making people trip up in the village. I cried so hard that night. Oh, drat … I can't believe I just wrote that!

Round the back of the house were some stables, where there was just one horse that I have owned ever since I was a young girl. His name is Timmy. He's a Clydesdale; jet black with white around his hooves and between his eyes. When the first clear day of spring comes, I loved to ride Timmy over the dew drenched grass and ride freely and wildly over the lands, riding wherever we want to go. And I'll tell you about one day when I was ten years old what happened.

It was some time in spring, I can't remember when it was that long ago but it was spring and I saw a lunch box with some things wrapped in foil. I opened my curtains and looked out my window and saw the sun beaming trough the trees. At that moment, my eyes widened and I suddenly felt wide awake. I quickly jumped out of bed, had a shower, brushed my hair and let it hang naturally down grabbed the lunch box – for it also had two bottles of juice in there – opened my window, grabbed a piece of rope hanging outside and abseiled down the front of the cottage, ran round the back, leapt on to Timmy's back, yelled "Hyah!" and that was it, we were off, riding wildly through the forest and the hills, putting the lunch box in one of the bags around Timmy's saddle as we rode (my grandmothers had already got him saddled up).

The grasses bowed and danced in the wind as we rode. I picked up my bow and arrows I had made for myself and shot at some targets I had made out of straw and hung them on trees and I hit every target, bullseye after bullseye, for I had been practising for a few years and now I never missed a shot. After a while we rested for a bit in a shadowy patch of land somewhere on the hills. I saw a fox come limping up to me – I was friendly and respectful towards all the wild creatures there – and I saw that it had hurt one of its front legs. I gasped and got some milk out of a canister in another bag my grandmothers had put around Timmy's saddle and some cloth which I ripped up to make bandages and a pin. I let the little thing drink the milk and I stroked it carefully afterwards. After a while, I let it go; it hobbled off into a thicket as I grabbed Timmy and rode on.

We rode farther and farther on, deeper and deeper into the hills and valleys, until Timmy suddenly came to a stop. I looked up and saw that we had stopped at a shadowy clearing, which was covered with vine-leaves hanging down to the floor. I got off Timmy, patted his side, fed him a carrot, took the lunch box out of the left bag on Timmy's saddle and walked slowly towards the clearing. I was unsure whether to go in or not, but the vine-leaves seemed to beckon me into it, so I shrugged, took a deep breath for courage and walked in.

On the inside, it was sunny and beautiful; a waterfall sent clean, fresh water into a stream in the middle of the clearing; butterflies and little birds were flying around. The trees had beautiful blossoms hanging off their branches and wild flowers were just beginning to blossom. It was a beautiful and magical place; I could feel deep, ancient magic reverberating all around me; whispers from times past echoing in the air reached my ears, some faint, some loud, which means I hadn't stumbled upon this place by accident.

Suddenly, a fierce wind came out of nowhere; the trees bent from the ferocity of the wind and the birds and butterflies disappeared. Then, the wind stopped, everything cooled down and all was still … and then the water sparkled a magical, twinkling blue and I slowly walked towards it and sat by the stream's side, looking into the water. As I looked into it, a face started to appear, faint at first, but then clearly. He had a golden tinge to his skin, tawny hair shaped like a lion's mane, a long nose, had thin eyebrows and was wearing a stern expression. He had red-brown eyes, _"The same colour as my eyes,"_ I thought. Then I knew who he was.

"Grandfather Mufasa?" I asked the reflection.

The reflection in the water vanished and the water lost its sparkle. I wondered where the reflection had gone until I looked at the sky and saw the same face with the same fierce expression appear over me and stare at me. I gulped, stood up and leapt back.

"I'm sorry, sir. I didn't mean to intrude here –"

"It's all right, my child," my grandfather said in a deep, wise voice. "You have nothing to fear from me here, I assure you." And his fierce expression changed into one more kind and gentle.

"So, you really are my grandfather?"

"Yes, I am," he said.

"Well, it's finally good to meet you," I said nervously. He chuckled.

"Don't be so nervous. I am glad that I have met you after all these years. You look so much like your mother, yet my son is in you also, and pieces of me and Sarabi, too. I am glad to see that you are well and taken care of."

"Thank you," I said.

"After almost eleven years of not seeing you, I am glad that I have," he continued. "Tell me, have your grandmothers told you why they don't talk about your parents?"

I sighed and shook my head. Then I looked back at him. He frowned and said, "Well, they have their reasons, I'm sure. Now, take your snacks and ride off back to your grandmothers. It's getting late. And Kiara." I looked back when he said my name. "You are my son's daughter." I smiled at him, and he smiled at me. Then he pointed his head at the entrance to the clearing; so I ran through the vine-leaves, jumped on Timmy's back and ran back to the cottage.

By the time I got back, I saw smoke rising through the chimney which meant dinner was being cooked. So I took Timmy back to the stables, brushed him down, fed him, ate some of the food and drank some juice – for I had eaten nothing of what my grandmothers had given me until then – then I climbed up the rope to my room, got myself looking presentable enough for dinner and went downstairs.

The food was already being put on plates when I sat down at the table. My grandmothers asked me what I did that they and I told them everything; they were surprised and impressed when I told them about Grandfather Mufasa appearing and talking to me, and they were immensely pleased when I told them that Grandfather Mufasa told me that I was his son's daughter. They were so pleased and proud – especially Grandmother Sarabi, for she had been his wife – that they gave me second helpings of apple crumble for dessert.

And now, on with the rest of this chapter.

I knew plenty of things about myself that would have been kept quiet if I had lived with my aunt, uncle and cousin; like I said before, I knew that I was a witch, that I and my parents were and are still some of the most respected people in the world. I knew that one day soon I would be off to a school called Dragon Mort just like my parents before me. But there were some things that I did not know until in was eleven years old; like why I was taken away from my parents at such a young age and why my parents were never spoken about in that cottage, because when I asked either of my grandmothers about it, they always changed the subject – just so you know, I found out why my parents weren't spoken of in my grandmothers' cottage when I was thirteen, because that was when they came back into my life. I also should point out that Dragon Mort is in somewhere in Northern Ireland and the reason why I went to that school and not one in Africa is because the schools in Africa are devoted to the Dark Arts and my parents did not want me involved with such things that they despised. Oh, and I almost forgot to mention … I never found out that me and my family are the only royal wizarding family in history. The only reason no one knows about this is because only close friends and family knew about it until the final battle between good and evil! More on that when I get to it, so if you are reading this, then just stay with my story throughout these seven books, because my story is sure to be a long one.

I wandered around the village a lot, but in my younger days, I never went anywhere outside of the village. When I asked my grandmother Sarabi why this was, she always said: "I'm afraid that it is for your own protection because there are horrible people out there who want to hurt you. When you are eleven, you will be allowed to go outside the village. But until then, you will have stay inside the village, where you are safe. Do you understand, my little ray of sunshine?" she would stare at me hard for a moment before I would reply, "Yes, grandmother Sarabi." Then she would give me a hug and say, "Good girl," and then she would tell me a story.

I had learnt many lessons, of course. Things that you would learn in any Muggle school: maths, science, literature, etc. But I was also taught many other things, such as languages, how to eat correctly at the table, how to speak to people in high stations of society, and other such things, which made no sense to me at the time (seeing as I did not know about my royal status back then), and I would always wonder why I was taught such things, but now I know exactly why this was, and I am grateful for that teaching; because without it, I'm pretty sure I would be useless without it.

I was never allowed to ride a broomstick before I went to Dragon Mort, in case the Muggles saw me. Anyway, this chapter is about my Carol, and not as much about me, but I thought that you would like to know a little bit about my life before I went to Dragon Mort. But who is this "Carol" I hear you ask? Well, let me tell you about her.

I have already mentioned that almost all of my life has been filled with wonderful memories, and now you are going to find out why. It is because of my relatives, the Smiths. You see, Frank and Mavuto Smith and their daughter Carol are my uncle, aunt and cousin. They were nice lookin people, but there was nothing nice about them. No siree. You see, they lived in the same village as me and my two grandmothers, and they were never nice to me, I'm afraid to say. They always forgot my birthdays and Christmas' and when no one was around, Carol would always torment me, but whenever I said anything, her parents would always say that I was a lying, naughty little girl. Only my grandmothers believed the truth, though. That's why we never had them round that often, except for birthdays and Christmas. But it was always her birthdays I hated, because I had no choice but to go with her and my aunt and uncle and something would always go wrong, because she would push my buttons and I would make something strange happen that Carol's parents never really liked.

Mavuto Smith is my mother's twin sister – although they look nothing alike. Ursula was short and stout with tightly-curled, mousey-brown hair that was shoulder-length and bouncy. She had a round face and a long neck, which was strange for someone very stout. The only thing that was similar between her and my mother were the eyes. Apart from that, nothing else was similar. She would dress well and ran her own business, which was a cleaning company. Managing others and yelling at several people was something that she was rather good at and was the only thing that she was well at, apart from running her "good" family. She moved to England not long after she came of age, saying that she wanted a "change of air", although my family are convinced that she moved because she couldn't stand to be with my mother any longer, and no one argued on that point.

Anyhoo, once she was settled in Wales (she liked the look of it, and decided to stay there, from what I've heard), and she then met a man, my uncle Frank, whom she fell in love with, and the rest is history. Oh, and I should mention here that the reason that my cousin is named Carol is because my aunt wanted her to be just plain ordinary, which in my opinion is entirely too overrated, don't you agree?

Frank Smith was a tall, thin man with a handsome, youthful, friendly face. The only downside was that he had small, piggy, muddy-brown eyes and if he did not have those eyes, his face would be perfect. Unlike most men who liked to work, Frank preferred to stay at home with his daughter and take care of the house. He was a house-proud man … urgh, how weird does that sound to you?

Carol looks just like her mother: short, stout, same face, same eyes, everything the same. The only distaste she had was her fashion sense; for you see, she would often wear colours that clashed horribly, like pink with yellow, for instance. Coincidentally, she would _always_ wear something of pink and yellow for each and every birthday – but I've taught her a thing or two about fashion and she always listens to me now. We're good friends now, but I'm afraid that you will have to wait until my final adventure to see what I mean about that.

Carol is two months older than me, so her birthday is on the 31st May, which is the day that I am going to be writing about. The day that Carol turned eleven. After all, I didn't name this chapter "Carol's Birthday Trouble" for nothing, you know.

On the morning of the day in question, my alarm clock woke me up at eight o'clock on the dot as it always did. I switched on my light, stretched, yawned and looked around the room.

I liked my room; I was always allowed to customise it the way I wanted it to, to reflect my personality. It was big, bright and beautiful. The door of my room was always opposite the bed. My old bed was a four poster bed, with linen curtains. The bed was right next to the window, which had a perfect view of the valley, which I always liked to draw during the summer. I would take pictures each summer with the camera that my grandmother Sarabi had given me for my sixth birthday. When I first had my room, the walls were blank. But when I was five years old, I started to paint them. I would paint flowers and African suns and – something that had bugged me for many a year – a house with me and who looked like my parents. I had pictures of them from my grandmothers; just because I wasn't allowed to mention them, didn't mean that I couldn't have pictures of them. I asked them why many years ago and they said that it was cruel of them not to give me any notice of what they looked like.

Almost every inch of my walls were covered with paintings now. I was a fairly good climber, seeing as I had practised many times on the tree on the big hill that I had mentioned about before. I had a fair few wardrobes because of all the clothes I had. The wardrobes were at the other end of the room. I also had in my bedroom boxes of toys piled on top of each other near my door. I had computer games that I played on, a flat screen television and DVD player which was fitted on my wall a few months ago by my grandmothers. DVDs were also in shoe boxes for storage space. My shoes were placed near the door of my room. I also had a CD player plugged into the wall, which always stood on a little table. Also at the other end of my room was a long mirror that was a body-length mirror. We are quite a strange family, because now, the wizarding world uses Muggle technology as well as our usual devices of communication. Since Harry Potter defeated Lord Voldemort, the Ministry of Magic decided to use Muggle appliances for better communication; but besides that, many years ago, we wizards and witches tried to get our own broadcasting service on the television (don't ask me how many years ago it was, because I have no idea), but it never really took off; but ever since Harry Potter defeated Lord Voldemort, we decided to bring it back, not only to be more Muggle-friendly, but also because we are in the modern age, and our kind feel as though we have the right to step it up a notch from the radios we use.

Anyhoo, I have already mentioned above that I always liked to paint me and my parents in a house of our own. I wasn't that bad a drawer or painter; my walls looked a lot less messy though as I grew up. You see, I always wanted a proper home, with a proper family. I mean, don't get me wrong, living with my grandparents was great, but it doesn't compare with living with your parents. I gazed at one I liked the most; a painting of me and my father, his arms around me tight, and it looked like we were smiling at a camera. I think I may have took it from a dream I had, for before I met my father, I would often dream about him and me together, and some of those dreams would even seem real sometimes.

My grandmother Sarabi was still asleep, so I jumped out of bed, put my dressing-gown and slippers on and grabbed my wash bag on my dressing table and dashed out the door and into the bathroom down the hall.

Once I had had a shower and brushed my teeth, I went back to my room, shut the door went to my wardrobes. I changed into a duck-egg blue top with navy jeans and a golden shrug. Once I put my socks on, I had a look at myself in the mirror. I was a tall, thin girl of ten, with the long, waist-length hair of my mother. Like my mother's hair, mine would always shimmer in the sun. It always made my friends stare, and I _loved_ the attention, which made my cousin Carol jealous every time.

I went back to my dressing table and put my wash bag back down on top of it. I then opened the dresser door and took out my smooth and hard brushes, one to get the knots out of my hair, and the other to smooth the hair out. I went back to the long mirror and started to brush my hair. In the pocket of my jeans I found a hair bobble, and tied my hair back. I put my hair brushes back, picked up the moving picture of my parents wedding day – which I guessed, seeing as my mother was wearing a beautiful gold and white flowing gown – kissed my parents' faces and said, "I love and miss you both. I wish that you could both be here with me." I then hugged the picture close to my chest and put it back down on my dressing table.

I then looked at the calendar beside the door and saw that I had written "CAROL'S BIRTHDAY" on that particular date. "_How could I have forgotten?"_ I thought to myself at the time. But then I remembered the birthday tag that my grandmother Sirabi made me sign the night before, and I knew that she had bought Carol a present because she knew that I did not care for my cousin at that moment and that I hadn't got anything for her. With that thought pleasing me in my head, I quietly headed back out of my bedroom, quietly closed the door and made my way down the spiral stone staircase towards the kitchen.

The kitchen, dining room and lounge were all stretched into one room. Light stone floors which had a tiny lining of dust on them because I had not yet cleaned them had a tiny inch of sunlight coming in from the inch of open curtain. The lounge was a large room, with light cream walls, a large flat screen television and DVD player combo was plugged into the wall and a three-seater couch and two armchairs were placed either side of the couch. I remember when I used to fall asleep there when I was younger because I stayed up late watching television on either of my grandmothers' laps. Neither of them woke me, but whenever I woke up later in the night I found myself in my own bed and I didn't know how I had got there in the first place.

The dining room and kitchen had light cream walls, another tiny inch of sunlight coming from an open inch of curtain and a light stone floor. A circular dining table stood in the middle of the room, its mahogany surface gleaming, as did the worktops in the kitchen which meant that my grandmother Sarabi had been up at night cleaning again before she went to bed the night before. The table and worktops were so shiny that you could see your face in them. Pots and pans were gleaming on the worktop in the middle right next to the chopping board. Cupboards were placed hither and thither, whilst a fridge-freezer and many other kitchen appliances were placed about the kitchen.

I closed the door to the stairs so as not to wake my grandmother Sirabi, opened the curtains on either side of the long room, turned on the television and started to clean the stone floor. When I had finished, I heard a "meow" from outside the back door, so I unlocked it and looked around for the cat wasn't at my feet. Then I jumped at least a foot off the ground for the cat trotted down from the top of an apple tree in the back yard, came trotting in leaving muddy paw prints over my just-cleaned floors, looking extremely proud of himself.

"Crooks!" I growled, closing the door and facing the cat. "You made me jump, you bad cat! And I just mopped in here!" He just looked innocently at me, so I picked him up and washed his paws, which he didn't like one bit, for he kept trying to claw my face off as all cats do when they're faced with water. He did that every single picking day of the week! Crooks was my grandmothers' cat, quite fat around the middle with a squashed face and bandy, crooked legs, and he was a stereotypical black cat. The reason my grandmothers called him Crooks was because he had two crooked back legs. As soon as I had washed him, I put him down on the floor and he scampered over to the couch and jumped on it, curled up and lay there, purring. I then got the mop and mop bucket back and began to clean the kitchen floor again – stupid moggy! I respect all living creatures though, because of the "Great Circle of Life". Crooks died a few years later in unfortunate circumstances, being the foolish moggy that he was. I was going to tell you how he died, but that would have gone against everything that I have mentioned above.

Once I had emptied the mop bucket of soapy water, I put it and the mop back in the cupboard under the stairs in the hall. Then I went back into the kitchen and started to make the breakfast. I should let you know at this point that both of my grandmothers had taught me about the time when I was seven how to cook and clean the house, so I was not treated like a servant for them, if that is what any of you are thinking.

When the breakfast was done, I got out two plates and started to put bacon, eggs, sausages and beans onto them. Then I got two napkins and put a knife and fork on each of them. I then put another two plates over our breakfast plates so that Crooks could not eat our breakfasts and took a table cloth from a drawer near the fridge-freezer and laid it smoothly over the table. I then put a fresh flower in a vase and placed it in the middle of the table. I poured out orange juice into two glasses from the drainer and put them onto the table, along with ketchup, jam, marmalade, the napkins and the two breakfasts, still with other plates over them. Then I put toast in the toaster, and when it was done, it popped out, and I caught it neatly on a plate and buttered it. I had learnt a few months back that my grandmother Sirabi was always awoken each morning by the smell of freshly buttered toast, so I opened the door to the spiral staircase, picked up a piece of paper and wafted the buttered toast up the stairs.

It took little longer than a minute to wake her up, for I heard her say, "Is that the smell of freshly buttered toast that I smell?" to which I would always reply, "Yes, grandmother Sarabi, it is." Then it would be at least another thirty seconds before she would say, "Ah, then that means you have done the breakfast perfectly yet again, Kiara my dear." Then everything would go quiet, which meant that she was getting up and getting ready. I would then shut the door to the spiral staircase, put the toast on a bench and see Crooks sitting there. I would then grab his cat treats and put them in one bowl, but before I did, I would shake them to let him know that it was his breakfast time. With his bowl of treats on the floor, I then filled up his water dish, put that next to his food dish, left him to it and opened the window just as an owl flew in to deliver the wizarding paper, _The Squabbler_. I took the paper from the owl, paid him five Knuts and some owl treats and sent him on his way again. Then I placed the toast in the middle of the oval table, took the plates off mine and my grandmother Sarabi's breakfasts and placed them at opposite sides of the table.

I had just sat down when my grandmother Sarabi entered the room. She was wearing blue baggy jeans, a white cotton shirt and a leather black jacket over the cotton shirt. She was also wearing black boots and she had her hair tied up. She had let it grow ever since all those years ago when I had first been given to her, for her hair was now slightly past her shoulders and it had started to grey at the top a little bit.

"Good morning, Kiara dear," Grandmother Sarabi said to me. I said nothing, but played with my breakfast for a minute before she looked up and said, "Whatever is the matter with you this morning, child? You're a lot quieter than usual."

"It's just Carol's birthday, Grandmother," I said gloomily. "Do I really have to go this year? I mean, I know that you have already said that this will be my last year going out with the Smiths for Carol's birthday, but do I really have to put up with it this year."

"Well, it does explain why Sarafina isn't here this morning," she started, "but I'm afraid you still have to go, because at some points in our lives, we all have to do what we don't want to do. Don't worry though," she said, walking around the table to bend beside me. She put one hand under my chin and pushed my head up to look at her, and with the other, she brushed back my hair, "after today, you won't have to see them until your summer holidays. After all, you'll be starting at Dragon Mort, and you will be just as great as your parents before you. I promise you that."

"I thought that you said my parents' names weren't to be said under our roof?" I asked her, looking at her suspiciously.

"I meant their _names_, child, but to call them "parents", "father" or "mother" is all right to use." We smiled at each other and then hugged each other tightly, before tucking back into our breakfasts.

After we had finished and I was washing the last of the dishes, the doorbell rang. Grandmother Sarabi went to answer it, whilst I washed the last plate and put it on the drainer. I turned round as I saw my two grandmothers enter the room, followed by Uncle Frank, Aunt Mavuto and my cousin Carol. All three Smiths looked rather unpleasant to be back in my grandmothers' cottage, just like they always did every time they were there. I found out later by Carol that it was because they sensed a magical presence in the air.

"Kiara, how are you on this fine morning?" asked my grandmother Sarafina, dashing over to me, picking me up and spinning me around. Then she hugged me and put me back down. She was wearing long black boots and a red dress which reached her knees and she had her hair down.

"I'm fine, grandmother Sarafina, how are you?" I asked her politely as she looked fondly at me.

"I'm all right Kiara," she replied smiling at me. "So, are you ready to go out today with your aunt, uncle and cousin?"

"Unfortunately so," I sighed to her. So in a comforting gesture she knelt down in front of me and hugged me tightly, then stood back so that I could see my aunt, uncle and cousin.

"This isn't exactly joyous for us either … Kiara," Aunt Mavuto shuddered. She, my uncle and Carol hated using my name in front of me, but they did it to please my grandmothers whenever they were in the same room as each other.

"You will try to treat her all right, won't you, because the last few times you have taken her out on Carol's birthdays, Kiara always manages to come back in tears, and I will not tolerate this kind of behaviour again," Grandmother Sarabi growled. She could be quite a fierce woman when she wanted to be.

"Oh, don't worry, Sarabi, we'll take good care of her whilst we are out today," Uncle Frank said over-politely, which means that he never meant it.

"You'd better," said my grandmother Sarabi, her eyes narrowed. "Right, me and Kiara will meet you outside. I need to talk to her alone for a moment." Then my aunt, uncle, cousin Carol and my grandmother Sarafina left. When we heard the front door shut, my grandmother Sirabi turned to me and said, "Kiara, I know you don't want to go, but just keep your chin up and try not to get in trouble."

"I'm not promising anything, Grandmother Sarabi, but every time I go for a day out on Carol's birthday with them, Carol ends up pushing my buttons and it all goes horribly wrong. I don't want to go with them because they spoil everything for me because they hurt me, both inside and out," I said, and I could feel my eyes starting to burn.

Grandmother Sarabi knelt in front of me again and said, "Look, I know you feel upset by this and you don't like to go with them, but you remind me of my son whenever he never wanted to do something he didn't want to do. And do you know what happened to him?"

"No, what happened, Grandmother?" I asked, looking curiously at her for the answer.

"He learnt a few things about life and grew up and faced his fears and problems head-on," she said gently. And with one look, I knew that I had to go with the Smiths and try not to screw the day up. We smiled at each other and hugged again. Then she took my hand and we walked into the hall where I grabbed my coat and we walked out the front door.

I put my coat in as we were walking out the front door. My aunt, uncle and cousin were already getting impatient; they were looking at their watches, tapping their feet and in my aunt's case, were clicking their tongues.

My grandmother Sarabi hugged me tightly for a moment and kissed me on the head before she said, "Be good for your aunt and uncle and have a good day. We'll see you later." She then hugged me again and went back inside the cottage.

My grandmother Sarafina came forwards and said, "Have a good day out at the zoo, sweetheart." Then she kissed me on the head and hugged me before she, too, went inside the cottage.

Aunt Mavuto waited before the cottage door had closed before she turned to me menacingly and said, "Now listen here, girl! You have messed my Carol's special day up many times before, and I will not let it happen again, for if you do, you are going to suffer! Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, Aunt Mavuto," I said shakily, for even though I was tall, my aunt towered over me. It was seriously scary!

"Good. Now, get in the car! We're already a few minutes behind schedule as it is, and I do not like to be late!" And with that, my uncle and Carol got in the back of the car, whilst I got in the front passenger seat with Aunt Mavuto; she always liked to keep an eye on me, in case I did anything "out of the ordinary" as she would put it.

It took us twenty minutes to get to the zoo in my aunt's car. When we got there, the woman at the ice cream stand gave Carol and strawberry and chocolate ice cream with strawberry sauce and a flake. When she asked me what I wanted, I didn't answer for my Aunt Ursula asked if she could give me a chocolate ice cream, just to be nice to me; she and my uncle were scared in case my grandmother Sirabi turned them into bats or something. LOL!

It wasn't so bad, walking round the zoo and eating my ice cream. Carol stopped to look at a group of meerkats; she looked like one too, for she had her hands bent down and she was on her toes looking left and right at the scurrying meerkats, for she didn't know which one to look at. She had to be taken away by her parents after a while for she didn't want to go. Whilst we were at the zoo, I kept my distance from Carol, just in case she decided to turn round and try to use me as a punch bag. My favourite animal however was the lion. I didn't know why back then, but I always felt some kind of connection towards them, for when I walked past their house, I turned my head a bit, and I am not making this next bit up, but every lion in the lion house looked at me. It was seriously weird and a little bit scary, but I kept a cool head and moved on.

At midday, we stopped for lunch. Burgers and fries with ketchup, yummy! I finished first so I was allowed to leave the table first. My aunt and uncle said that they and Carol would meet me in the reptile house, so I went there and waited for them at the door. I only had to wait ten minutes however before we went inside together. When we went in, almost every reptile in the house turned and stared at me, transfixed; it was like they were under some sort of spell and I was controlling them. Of course, I didn't know what any of this meant until my second year, but more on that later. As we walked, all the reptiles followed us. Anyhoo, Carol wanted to see spitting cobras and other poisonous reptiles, but the only large snake in the place was a python that was fast asleep.

"Make it move, Mum," whispered Carol, her hands on the glass. Aunt Mavuto rapped smartly on the glass, but the snake did not move.

"Do it again!" growled Carol. Again Aunt Mavuto rapped on the glass, and again, the snake did not move. So Carol hammered on the glass, but I stopped her after a few hammerings.

"What are you doing?" I hissed to her. "Don't wake him up! Besides, we should respect all creatures, and this snake has done nothing to you, so leave him alone! And do you want to get us kicked out of here?"

She glared at me for a moment before she said, "This is _boring_" before she moved along to see one of the other animals in the reptile house. So I moved to the middle of the glass.

"Sorry about her," I said to the snake. "She doesn't know what it's like to be ignored and left alone, to feel like the world is against you every now and then, to often feel alone without anyone to rely on."

I looked at the snake, and surprisingly, it lifted its head and hissed at me, but when it hissed it sounded like it was saying "_psst!_"

I was taken aback for a moment, but I quickly recovered myself and leant my head back to the glass and whispered to the snake, "Can you _hear_ me?" to which the snake simply nodded.

"You were taken away from your family, weren't you? Bred here at the zoo?" The snake nodded again. "I know how you feel, for I was taken away from my parents when I was very young, too."

Unfortunately for me, I hadn't noticed that Carol had been watching the snake and me from behind my back. So me and the snake both jumped when Carol shouted, "Mum! Daddy! Come quickly! You don't know what this snake is doing!" She dashed back over to me and the snake, divided by the glass, obviously. "Out of my way, you!" she grunted, shoving me aside without haste. I fell to the floor, my left arm and leg aching from the fall. I glared up at Carol and the most miraculous thing seemed to happen: one moment, Carol was standing there with her hands pressed against the glass. Next moment, the glass had vanished, Carol had toppled over into the snake's enclosure and the snake was slithering out of it.

The snake then rose up in front of me. I thought it was going to attack me, but then it said "_Thankssss_," to which I shakily replied to the enormous python, "Any time." Then the snake slithered off.

Carol was not happy, for she was trapped behind the glass, for the glass of the snake's enclosure had magically reappeared. My aunt and uncle came back, and they saw Carol behind the glass and they were screaming. I was giggling quietly on the floor, until Aunt Mavuto stood over me, a ferocious glint in her eye.

"I'm in trouble … aren't I?" I asked hastily. Too angry to speak, my aunt simply replied with a nod. The zookeeper got Carol out and was apologising to us all the way to the car. My uncle and Carol got in the back, whilst I got in the front of the car with my aunt. Then she turned to me furiously and said, "Right, girl what happened in there?"

"I swear to you I don't know," I exclaimed. "One minute the glass was there and the next it was gone, just like magic!"

"I'll be having words with your grandmothers when we get you back home, girl! Mark my words; you will be in so much trouble!" Aunt Mavuto growled.

"I'm just glad that this is my last year going out with you lot, which I am sure you are, too! And about me being in trouble, I highly doubt it, so just take me home!" I said viciously, and with that, we buckled our seatbelts and my aunt started the engine of the car.

I knew it would be another disaster and it was. Once again, I had ruined Carol's birthday, because she had to go too far and push my buttons for me to not control my emotions when I was around my cousin.

The journey home was quiet and tense; Carol was sobbing into Uncle Frank's chest in the back of the car and he was stroking her hair and trying to quieten her down, whilst Aunt Mavuto's hands were clenched tightly around the steering wheel and every now and again I could feel her steely glares down at me when she was sure there was no traffic ahead or we had stopped at a set of traffic lights, so I just kept my eyes staring directly ahead on the main road. I knew that the worst for me was yet to come, but I knew that my grandmothers wouldn't let my aunt, uncle or cousin do anything to hurt me under their roof so I wasn't too worried.

After what felt like hours to me driving, we had arrived back at my grandmothers' cottage. I was shaking so much that the seat was moving. My aunt opened my passenger door and said, "Let's see what your grandmothers have to say about this, girl." I glared at her as I undid my seatbelt, but that glare soon turned into a wince as she grabbed me painfully by the ear and dragged me up the front lawn. She kicked down the front door and threw me painfully onto the stone floor. I felt pains in my arms and legs where I had scratched myself and parts of my clothes were torn, but that didn't matter much to me then. What did matter to me however was the sound of my Grandmother Sarafina's voice and her footsteps combined with my Grandmother Sarabi's as they came running into the hallway. Grandmother Sarafina reached our party first.

"Frank, Ursula, what on _earth_ is going - ?" Grandmother Sarafina began, but she quickly stopped as she dawned on the scene in front of her and soon clicked onto what was happening. My grandmother Sarabi had just joined us and she looked angrily at my aunt and uncle.

"What did you do to my granddaughter?" she yelled at my aunt and uncle.

"She deserved what she got! Carol fell into a snake enclosure, the snake had _magically_ disappeared, the glass – which had disappeared when Carol had leaned against it – had instantly resealed itself, and your precious granddaughter had something to do with it!" Aunt Mavuto screamed, spit flying from her mouth.

"I'm sorry, but it was an accident! After all, young witches and wizards around my age can't control their powers! Everyone in the wizarding world knows that!" I cried, imploring her to see reason, but I knew that she wouldn't because she was just too stubborn to listen to anything I had to say.

"Kiara's right, Mavuto!" Sarabi said. "Besides, you have a grudge against Kiara because of your sister and who she was!"

"Oh that's rubbish –!" Aunt Mavuto began, but Grandmother Sarafina cut her off.

"Actually, Mavuto, Sirabi's right," Sarafina said. "Ever since your dear sister, Nala, found out that she was a witch, you've been jealous of her and her talents, and even now that grudge between you and your sister still remains because you see what you saw in you sister in Kiara, but I have a feeling that she is like her father and more in many ways than how she looks on the outside!"

"You resented me, Mother!" spat Aunt Mavuto.

"No, I swear on your father's life I never –!"

"Yes you did, don't deny it! Ever since Nala became a witch, you favoured her more than me! From that time on I was always your _precious _little Mavuto, who always was hanging around and feeling unloved, hearing you and Dad speaking of her with pride ever since you read her letters and saw her boyfriend for the first time! You never treated me in the same way you treated her!"

"Mavuto, me and your father loved you with all our hearts, but your sister was the first witch that we had ever had in our family. It was so exciting for us! Oh Mavuto, if I could go back and change things I would have and I swear I would have spent more time with you, darling and I'm so –!"

"Don't bother apologising, Mother! You never loved me like you did Nala! She was always your special girl and she was the one who got all the special treatment from you and Dad, like she was your pride and joy! She was your prize and a better daughter than I ever could have been!"

"You're right, Mavuto, and you know why? Because she never tried to get rid of her sister by doing terrible things to her and trying to kill her, like you did! Me and your father tried our best to ignore it, but you just wouldn't give up! She was a better daughter than you ever could be because she wasn't jealous of you. She loved you and still loves you like a sister, I know it. And besides that, I think it's time you put your jealousy for your sister behind you, because like it or not, Kiara is like her. So leave this foolishness behind you Ursula, and get out!"

My grandmother Sarafina was in tears by this point, and not to be bothered by anyone else, she turned and walked into the kitchen we all watched her go and when we heard the kitchen door slam, there was an awkward pause.

After a tense moment between the five of us who were left, Grandmother Sarabi said to my aunt, uncle and cousin, "I think it's time the three of you left." And with that, my aunt, uncle and cousin turned tail and left. When the front door closed with a snap, my grandmother Sarabi heard me sobbing on the floor. She turned to me, gasped, dashed over to me and said, "Oh, my darling Kiara! I forgot all about you for a moment, I'm so sorry! Are you all right?"

"I think so," I replied. "I'm just a little sore and shaken and my clothes are torn. Can you fix me up?"

My grandmother Sarabi smiled and nodded and said, "Of course, dear. Come on, up you get." She helped me to my feet and she opened the door to the lounge, dining room and kitchen. We could see my grandmother Sarafina crying quietly at the kitchen table, for she had her head in her crossed arms and her body was shaking. I tried not to take any notice of her as me and Grandmother Sarabi crossed the kitchen quietly, opened the door to the stairs, closed the door once we had crossed it and made our way to my room. Grandmother Sirabi then told me to wait on my bed whilst she went to get some Essence of Dittany from her medical cupboard in her room.

When she was back and started to heal my wounds, I asked her some questions that I thought needed answering.

"Grandmother Sarabi, why do my aunt, uncle and cousin hate me so? And why do they treat me like this every time I see them?"

My grandmother Sarabi was silent for a moment as she healed my wounds; to some people, this would be an example of someone thinking how to answer a question, but I knew that Grandmother Sarabi was trying to avoid answering my questions. When she couldn't ignore me any longer, however – meaning when she had healed my wounds – she put the bottle of Dittany on my bedside cabinet, sat down on the bed next to me, put her arm around me and stroked my head as she said, "I'm going to answer both your questions with the same answer, Kiara. What you heard downstairs between Sarafina and Mavuto is true, meaning that your aunt Mavuto was jealous of your mother's talents. I believe that Sarafina saw Ursula sending a letter to the headmistress of Dragon Mort herself."

"You mean, _the_ Susan Louise Jane Winifred Crighton?" I asked, surprise etched across my face as I looked up at Grandmother Sarabi. She chuckled and nodded at me. "But I thought Muggles couldn't get in touch with the school, isn't that what you taught me?"

Grandmother Sarabi chuckled again and said, "Fair point, my child. Now, don't worry about your relatives. Me and Sarafina will talk to them in the morning. You'll be all right on your own for a few hours, won't you?"

"Yes, Grandmother Sarabi."

"Good. Now, I have to check up on Sarafina and try to calm her down. You stay here whilst I take care of her. I'll bring you up some food later and in the meantime you can watch what you like on the telly. I'm so sorry you had to go with them again, Kiara. I only thought things had changed since last year. Turns out I was wrong, but on the bright side, you never have to do that again." Then she kissed me on the head, walked across my room and shut my bedroom door. I got my television remote and turned over to the CBBC channel, where the funny programs on it took my mind off the horrible day out with my relatives.

It was dusk, and I was watching the Disney Channel now. I had my lamp on in my room, and I was watching the sun set, listening to the words said by the characters on the screen, not really paying attention to what was being said. Grandmother Sarafina had left hours ago, without saying goodbye to me. When Grandmother Sarabi had bought me up a snack before, she said that my grandmother Sarafina hadn't said goodbye because she had felt embarrassed by what had been said before in front of me, and she also said that Sarafina was spending the night at Ursula's because she was sorry and embarrassed by the way that she had acted before in front of me. Grandmother Sarabi also said that Sarafina would be back the next day, so I wasn't too worried. Sarabi said that I was welcome to come downstairs whenever I wanted, but I didn't; the reason that I didn't go down after my door had closed and hours afterwards was because I was happy where I was in my room for the time being.

I heard the sound of something sizzling and smelt something good cooking from the kitchen, but I didn't go down, because I knew my grandmother Sarabi was trying to tempt me to come down, but I wasn't going to fall for it. I was just lost in thought at the time, not thinking about much, just absent-mindedly watching the sun set. I was bought out of my non-existent thoughts however, by the knock on my bedroom door. "Come in," was all that I could answer to it, my voice jumping up an octave by the fact that I had jumped about a foot in the air. I had resettled myself by the time Grandmother Sarabi walked in through the door, with Crooks walking behind her heels.

"Are you all right, sweetheart?" Grandmother Sarabi asked me, her face quite startled. "You didn't seem yourself when I knocked."

"I'm fine, Grandmother Sarabi," I assured her, my voice now having returned to normal. "I was just startled by your knock because I hadn't heard you come up the stairs."

"Oh, Kiara," Grandmother Sarabi chuckled in relief. "I'm sorry about that, my child. I'm glad that your appetite sense still works," she said, looking down at the plate on my dresser next to my bed where a sandwich had once been. "You ate it all, then? After your "exciting" day?"

I chuckled as I replied, "Well, I was quite hungry and it did fill me up, when you cook it always does, and I generally mean that," I added as she looked at me suspiciously. "But now, I'm hungry again. Did you, by any chance, bring me up some food?"

"I thought you might be hungry by now, so I made some pizza for us to eat." And from behind her back, she pulled out a plate with another plate over the top so that Crooks couldn't get his hands on the food. Crooks trotted over to my bed, jumped onto my bed and then took a light bound onto a space on my windowsill, where he curled up and gazed at me. Grandmother Sarabi closed the door after Crooks and walked over to my bed, sat down on it and removed the other plate. The pizza smelled delicious; margarita covered on top by pepperoni. My favourite!

Nothing was said between us then, for we were both involved in devouring the pizza, whilst watching the television she was interested in what was on the Disney channel as I was. After we had eaten, all that was left was the crust of the pizza. Crooks' breathing was slow and deep, which meant that he had fallen asleep, whilst me and Grandmother Sarabi were lying side by side on my bed, watching something on the Disney channel. I was curled tightly around her with one of my hands over my waist, whilst she had one arm curled around me just below my shoulder.

We lay like that for a while, before she turned off my television, switched on the lamp on my bedside table and said, "I'm terribly sorry about today, my dearest Kiara. Are you _sure_ you're all right?"

"Yes, Grandmother Sarabi," I replied tonelessly.

She could tell that something in my mind was bothering me though, because she turned her head toward me and said, "You don't fool me, Kiara, so why don't you tell me what's on your mind. After all, you know that you can always confide in me if anything is ever bothering you. That's what I'm here for. Besides, I swore to my son – as Sarafina did to … Nala –" she was slightly hesitant as she said my mother's name – "that I would protect you and be there for you, no matter what. So, what's wrong, hmmm?"

I took a deep breath, and then said, "Well … it's about my parents." I looked up at her slowly, cautiously, dreading to see her reaction, but to my surprise, she was completely calm. She took a deep breath with her eyes closed and nodded, then opened her eyes, looked down at me, and said, "What would you like to ask me about them, dear?"

"Well, I'd just like to know that if they could see me now, do you think they would be proud of me, the way I've grown up and the person I'm becoming?" I looked at the picture of my parents on their wedding day as I said this, wondering what their reactions would be if they could see me now, but no clear answer came into my mind.

Grandmother Sarabi was quite shocked by my question, but she quickly calmed herself, for she said to me, "Well, Kiara, that is indeed a very grown-up question to ask, but for an answer I would say that they would be proud of the young woman you are becoming if they could see you now, because not only are you stronger than you think you are, but there is also the fact that you are their daughter, and my granddaughter, and I know that you will do well in the future, no matter what happens."

"Sarabi is right, Kiara," a quiet voice spoke from the corner, but this voice was not one I had heard of before, for it was a woman's and it was light and cheerful and you could hear a smile within it. My Grandmother Sarabi and I both jumped and looked towards the place where my television was – for that is where we guessed the voice had spoken from, but we saw no one. Then, out of the darkness of that corner, a bright white light shone, covering everything it touched, but it was warm; not scorching hot like the light from a fire would be, but like bath water should be. As it began to fade, I wondered what was going on, I was terrified by what was soon going to happen, and I looked toward my grandmother Sirabi to see what she was feeling. But to my surprise, she looked pleased by what was happening, like she had hoped this day would come for a long time.

She turned to me then, and when she saw my terrified expression she said, "Relax, Kiara. It's all right, my darling. Everything will be explained to you soon, my child don't worry." Then she kissed me lightly on my forehead and rubbed her hand gently up and down my right arm, trying to soothe me, but it didn't work. Even though I knew she was telling the truth, I wouldn't relax until I knew for sure for myself that everything was going to be fine.

When the light faded, I saw a woman that I had heard about a lot from Grandmother Sirabi appeared before me; tall and thin, waist-length brown hair with a few grey strands because of her aging, which curled inwardly at the ends; her midnight-blue robes covering her shoes and despite her age, she had fewer lines around her face and hands. She had a long silver pendant in the shape of a bird that I had never seen before, that was huge, and had emeralds for its eyes , and the chain of the pendant was covered with so many jade-green stones that entwined together that it looked like the chain was made out of vines, although I could just see glints of silver shining through the stones, and the bird-part lay just below her breasts. She had a heart-shaped face and I could just see her eyes, which were like two emeralds that peered through the gloom. As she walked steadily towards us, she had a warm, dazzling smile on her face, which made me feel comforted already, even though I didn't know this woman yet. I smiled back at her, though it was more of a grimace than a smile, for the woman chuckled at me.

"Don't be scared, child," the woman said, "I won't hurt you, I swear. I just wanted to see how well you are doing after all these years."

"She's doing perfectly well, Susan," Grandmother Sarabi said to her. "Although, today with Mavuto and her family was another disaster."

"I am sorry about that, Sarabi, truly. I just thought and hoped that after all this time, Mavuto would have –"the woman began, but Grandmother Sarabi cut her off.

"Sarafina and I hoped the same things, Susan, but her jealousy towards Nala still remains. Now, tell Kiara what you have to, Susan. She deserves to know as much as possible." The woman gazed at Grandmother Sarabi for a moment, then slowly bowed her head, turned to me and pulled her head back up to face me.

"Kiara," she began, "do you know what it is that you can do? What you can make happen by accident if you get angry or scared?"

"It's magic that I can do, isn't it?" I asked her, wondering where this was going.

"Yes, it is magic that you can do," the woman said, smiling at me in encouragement. "Now, do you know the name of the school that you will be attending in a few months time?"

"Yes, the name of the school is Dragon Mort," I said, smiling back at her. And before I could stop myself, I added, "And you're the headmistress, aren't you, ma'am?"

The woman looked shocked for a moment, but she quickly contained herself and said, "Very good, my child. The answer is yes to the question you asked me. Sarabi has told you a lot about who you are and what you are part of, so it seems."

"Well, she has only told me the name of the school, and some of the teachers who are there, but apart from that, I know nothing," I said. Crighton looked shocked at this news, but she seemed to get over it quite quickly. Clearly something in her mind was telling her that it was probably for the best; a bit like when you were younger, and had the best birthday/Christmas present to open, and no one told you about it, because it would ruin everything for you if anyone said anything to you about it, do you know what I mean. Anyhoo, I then said, "But she didn't tell me why my parents' names aren't mentioned around here anymore."

"Ah, well she had a right not to tell you that, and when you are a few years older, you will know, I assure you, so put that matter out of your head for the time being, all right?"

"OK," I replied.

"Good girl. And by the way, now who you know who I am, you will address me as either "Professor" or ma'am, as you already have, which is excellent, because that means that you have already accepted your place at Dragon Mort Magical Academy."

"I can't wait to join you soon, ma'am," I said, my answering smile almost as warm as Crighton's was.

Crighton chuckled again and said, "I'm glad to hear that, Kiara, I truly am. Now, back to the matter of your parents."

I looked at her, confused, because she had just told me to keep my questions about them quiet for a few years, so what was she going to tell me about them now? But I just said, "What about them?"

"I'm afraid I can't tell you where they are, but what I can tell you is that I have just been to visit them."

"Really!" I gasped, excitement running through me like electricity. "Please ma'am, tell me what have they said to you about me?"

"Well, I told them that I would be visiting you after I visited them, so they told me to tell you that they miss you, they love you and they think the world of you. I also told them that Sarabi and Sarafina have both been taking good care of you and that they shouldn't worry because you are strong like your father before you, and they were glad when they heard that from me, I assure you. They also told me to tell you that they would like to keep in touch with you, seeing as they can't hear your voice, it would be a relief to know that you are alive and well, so that you would seem a little more real to them."

"Well, how can I get in touch with them and how do you know my parents so well?" I asked Crighton, shocked by how well she knew them.

Crighton paused for a moment, before she said, "Not right now, Kiara. But when you're older, then you can communicate with them. I'm sorry, Kiara," she said, as I started to argue against her decision, "but in time, you will understand. Can you be patient for us?" she finished gently. I thought about it for a few moments, looking between her and my grandmother Sarabi, before I nodded. Crighton smiled in relief and then said, "Good girl. Now, I really must be off. Oh, by the way Sarabi, Simba and Nala wanted me to send a message to you," Crighton said, turning toward my father's mother.

"What do they ask from me now, Susan?" Grandmother Sirabi asked Crighton tiredly.

"Nothing much," Crighton assured her, the smile in her voice evident again. "They merely ask that the next time you see them that you take pictures of Kiara with you to show them, seeing as it has been so long since they last saw their daughter."

"Tell them that I'll see what pictures of Kiara I can find to take with me next time I see them," Sarabi said.

"Jolly good," Crighton said, smiling again. "Right, I'd best be off. Until the next time, Sarabi – "Grandmother Sarabi gave a curt nod, "– and I'll see you in a few months time at Dragon Mort, Kiara," Crighton finished, winking at me.

I didn't know what to say, so I just said, "Goodbye for now, Professor."

She smiled again as another wave of that warm bright white light washed over the room, and when me and Grandmother Sarabi opened our eyes again, Crighton was gone.

"She's a very odd woman isn't she, Grandmother Sarabi?" I asked her.

Grandmother Sarabi chuckled and then answered, "Yes, Kiara, I suppose she is."

We were silent for a few more minutes before Grandmother Sarabi broke the silence. "Right, well I'll see you in the morning, Kiara."

"Goodnight, Grandmother," I said, as I smiled at her sweetly as she kissed me on the head.

"Don't stay up to late watching stuff on the box," she joked with me.

"I'll try not to," I joked back. We laughed as Grandmother Sarabi walked to the door and I turned the television back on. At my door, Grandmother Sarabi turned to me and said, "I love you, Kiara."

"I love you too, Grandmother Sarabi," I replied. We smiled at each other before she closed the door quietly behind her and I heard her walking down the stairs to watch the television, for I heard people laughing on it.

Crooks woke up at that moment, and he dazed at me. I stroked him and I heard him purring. Then as he stretched and I pulled my hand back, he turned his head away from me and gazed longingly out of my bedroom window. I sighed and said, "Do you want to go outside, Crooks?" I asked him. He turned his head back to me and I saw him bob his head once. So I opened my window for him and he leaped from my windowsill to the apple tree in our back yard. I then closed my window and sighed, smiling at my bedroom door. I know that I was grateful that I had my grandmother's love and that their arms were often around me were comforting, it wasn't the same as my parents being there; but I knew that there was nothing I could do to change the situation, so I shrugged and turned my attention back to the television.

Before I turned in for the night, I picked up the plate with the pizza crusts and put it on my dressing table. I then turned off my television and grabbed my wash bag, my hair brushes out of my dresser drawer and went to the bathroom where my pyjamas were still there from this morning, lying on the floor – which bugged my grandmother Sarabi. I washed my face, brushed my teeth and washed my hair. There was a hair dryer in there which I used to dry my hair and then I brushed it out. Then I took my clothes, wash bag and brushes back to my room, put my brushes back in my drawer, my wash bag on top of my dresser and my clothes on the floor near the door. The bobble went back in the bobble bag in my dresser and my shoes I put against one side of my door. I took my slippers and put them at the foot of my bed, my dressing gown was placed over the bar of my bed. Then I got into bed and turned off my lamp and went to sleep.

I couldn't wait to go to Dragon Mort Magical Academy, for it was going to be a new and exciting chapter of my life and also it was going to be an adventure – which it was, but more on that later. I forgot to mention before that there was one more thing I didn't mention before; I didn't know that me or my family were royalty until toward the end of the wizarding war and that I didn't know why Lady Zira attacked me and my family so many years ago until the end of the wizarding war. Life is long and hard with a lot of difficult choices that we must make and many sacrifices that we must also make along the way. These things I didn't realise, for back then at that moment, I was just a young girl of ten, who was almost eleven, and I was just enjoying life and looking forward to what was going to happen in the future.

0000

**So, that's chapter 2 over and done with. Please R&amp;R and I will get back to you real soon. Until I write again, then.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

**When Will I get my Letters?**

The next few months were calm and quiet after that – well, pretty much calm and quiet. I didn't see Crighton again until I reached the school and I didn't see Carol or my aunt and uncle again and I was pleased about that, for as far as I was concerned I didn't want to see any of their faces again, what with them being the people they were back then, I was thrilled about me not being anywhere near them, because if I were to be around them at any given time during the summer, I was sure that something terrible would happen, and that I would get hurt and get blamed for I knew that my magic abilities would do something to Carol. Grandmother Sarabi and Grandmother Sarafina tried to convince me to spend some time with them over the next few weeks, but when I pointed out the things that I have mentioned above – meaning that I would get hurt and blamed for whatever strange thing happened – Grandmother Sarabi and Grandmother Sarafina dropped the subject, for which I was glad for.

The summer was delightful, for it held fresh air, freedom, and it also was great to have my friends – from both the Muggle and wizarding worlds – spend time with me, except that I had to wait until the Muggles officially broke up for their summer holidays, what with them being in school and all that. But the summer was wonderful; we had picnics under the tree on top of the hill, had barbeques outside every Sunday when the sun was high in the sky and Grandmother Sarabi and Grandmother Sarafina took me out to the park, so that we could spend afternoons together. It was wonderful, those blissful, warm summer days. They made me feel immortal, because of the freedom and the peace and the beauty of those summer days that felt like they went on forever.

I knew that Crighton had written to my parents and told them that I wished to hear from them, and so, I received a letter from my parents which read thus* (* I only remember part of this letter that my parents wrote to me seeing as I don't have it with me now):

_My dearest Kiara,_

_I am sorry to have to tell you that Crighton has told us no to you coming to see me and your mother along with my mother because Crighton thinks that you're too young and that you should know what happened to us when you are much older. We are terribly sorry, darling, and we know how excited you were when you heard that suggestion from us, but you'll just have to live through this, OK? Now, me and your mother know that you will be upset when you read this, but just remember: you are strong._

I was upset when I read this, but I followed their advice and remained strong and kept the tears in – well, until I was asleep at night and then I let them out silently, but I kept the tears out from human eyes to see.

With the summer blissful and the days stretching endlessly out in front of me from spending time with my friends and my grandmothers, the summer went fairly quickly, for when I was with the people who made me happy and when I was writing letters to my parents and reading their replies, I was happy. But then, towards the end of June, something happened that made me suspicious and doubt my grandmothers and this thing even dampened the happiness in my life, and that happiness was like a sun, slowly filling me up with warm joy. And before any of you ask in your heads, no, it has nothing to do with my aunt, uncle and cousin. Honestly, people, the title of this chapter should give you an insight into what I'm talking about! Sheesh!

One morning, towards the end of June, everything started out as it should be on every other morning; I woke up, washed, dressed, mopped the floor, let Crooks in – he left muddy paw prints all over my clean floor again! – cooked the breakfast, woke my grandmothers up, set the table, got the paper, turned on the television and opened up the curtains. It was then, at the precise moment when my grandmothers and I had sat down together at the table and began to eat, that the form of an owl arrived, tapping at the window and carrying a letter in its beak.

"Get that for us would you?" Grandmother Sirabi asked from behind her morning paper. I sighed, got up and went over to the window to let the owl in. It landed on top of one of my grandmothers' spotless benches. I got the letter and saw on the front that it was addressed to me. It said:

_Miss K. Pride-Lander_

_The Largest Bedroom_

_Wales*_

I turned the letter over to see what was on the back, and saw that there was an emblem; there was a large dragon head in the middle, and over it were the big letters D.M.M.A. and surrounding this was a lion head, a snake head, a badger head and a raven's head. I was surprised by this, not because of the letter – for I thought I knew who it was from at the time – but from how heavy the envelope was, for it must have had more than one piece of paper in it. I was about to open it, when Grandmother Sarabi bought me back down to earth.

"Don't take all day over it," she tutted. Grandmother Sarabi _hated_ it when I took too long fretting over the mail. "Honestly you know how I hate it when you do that. Now, tell us who its for then, my dear. And shut the window, now that the owls gone. I don't want any flying insects getting in my house and all over the food that you have cooked for us."

I was surprised when she said this, for whilst I was checking out the letter, I hadn't realised that the owl had taken off through the open window once I had relieved it of the letter that it had been carrying. So I shut the window quickly, turned to my grandmothers and said, "Er … well, this letter …"

"Yes, dear?" Grandmother Sarafina asked cautiously, wondering what was troubling me about this letter.

"Tell us, Kiara, we want to know." Grandmother Sarabi was scared now, I could tell. After all, a friend once told me that when you live people long enough, you can tell what their antics are and you can instantly tell what they are feeling.

"This letter … its … for me," I finished, somewhat lamely.

"WHAT?!" my grandmothers screeched together, which made me jump and Crooks' fur to stand on end.

"See for yourselves," I said to them, holding out the letter to them so that they could see that I was telling the truth. They both dashed over to my side at once, and I saw both shock and amazement cross their faces … but not happiness, because I thought that that's what they would be. After all, this was what they _wanted _for me in the first place, for me to actually go to this school and learn magic for myself? I mean, what was going on?!

"Kiara, take your breakfast up to your room and stay up there until I call you, please," Grandmother Sirabi said, staring at a point over my head. Before I could say anything, Grandmother Sarabi said, "I don't want any arguments about this, Kiara. Sarafina and I just want to discuss something. Go on, now. Go on!" she said, and as she said that, she handed my breakfast to me and pushed me towards the door.

Grandmother Sarabi knew that I would probably listen at the door to the three rooms joined in one, so I took the plate without arguing and took it upstairs to my room. Once my room door was closed, I didn't start eating my breakfast; I put it down on my bed, and took off both my shoes. Seeing as I was eavesdropping on my grandmothers, I didn't want them to hear me coming back down the stairs, so I laid my shoes – slippers today, seeing as I wasn't going anywhere – and crept quietly down the stone spiral staircase. I waited until one of my grandmothers had gone into the kitchen – so I couldn't be seen – and pressed my ear against the door.

"Kiara's in her room, I'm sure of it now," Grandmother Sarabi said to Grandmother Sarafina, as she took a seat at the dining room table.

"Are you sure, Sarabi?" Grandmother Sarafina questioned her.

"I know our granddaughter, Sarafina," Grandmother Sirabi huffed. "Anyway, this isn't what this is about. I just can't understand why Susan would send Kiara's letter so early!"

"Well, they are meant to come around this time of the year, aren't they?" Grandmother Sarafina asked her cautiously. "After all, I remember when Nala's letter arrived in the post, and – "

"This isn't like when Nala, Simba, me or Mufasa got our letters, Sarafina!" Grandmother Sarabi growled as she got up and started pacing around the dining room table. "This is about Kiara and _her_ needs! I know the time is coming when she has to know why, but not so soon! There must be a way for us to bide more time for Kiara until she has the right to know what happened to her!"

At this point, I would have asked, _"What on earth are you two talking about? Can you just tell me what's going on?"_ but of course, I didn't want to be seen, so I kept my mouth shut and listened to what they had to say.

"Well, what are you going to do about it then, Sarabi?" Grandmother Sarafina asked her. "She has to know sometime soon, we can't keep this from her forever."

"Don't you think I know that?" Grandmother Sarabi sighed. "Look, I'll have to talk to Susan about this, see if I can bide some time, see if I can stop the letters from getting to her, just until her eleventh birthday gets here. I swear!"

For a minute, everything was quiet. Then, Grandmother Sarafina said, "All right, then. You know what's best for Kiara as well as I do. You'd best call her, so that she can come back down. Poor girl, she doesn't even know what's going on here."

"Yes, and for now it shall stay that way," Grandmother Sarabi said, with no trace of humour in her voice as there had been in Grandmother Sarafina's. Her pacing feet stopped and she headed towards the door to the stairs; before she got there she stopped and I could tell she had turned to Grandmother Sarafina, for she said to her, "Sara, is Mavuto expecting you, or are you going round to hers later?"

"I have no plans to. Why?"

"It's just that I have to visit Susan and explain to her that it is too early for Kiara to receive her letters yet, and that she should postpone them until her eleventh birthday. So whilst I'm out, could you stay here and watch Kiara for me?" Grandmother Sarabi said, walking back towards the dining room table.

"I won't leave her side, Sarabi, don't worry."

"Thanks, Sara. Right, I'd best call her back down now so that you can look after her. Think she'll still be hungry after we sent her to her room like that?"

"Right now, I bet she'll be stuffing her face with food. After all, we both know that Kiara's got the appetite of her father in her." My grandmothers both chuckled, and before Grandmother Sarabi had reached the door to the spiral stone staircase, I quickly dashed back up the stairs and into my room, quietly closed my bedroom door, put my slippers back on, sat down and put my breakfast on my lap. It was temperate now, but I was hungry enough to eat anything so I quickly wolfed it down.

I heard Grandmother Sarabi come up the stairs then and I slowed down the eating of my breakfast. I was on my eggs when she knocked on my bedroom door. "Come in, Grandmother Sarabi," I said, after I washed my mouthful of egg down. She opened the door and popped her head round it. She smiled as I finished off the last bite of it. "Well," Grandmother Sarabi smiled, "someone was hungry, weren't they?"

"Starving," I replied, and we both chuckled. Then Grandmother Sarabi came in and sat down next to me and said, "I have to go out now, so Sarafina's going to look after you today. Is that all right, dear?"

"Yes, Grandmother Sarabi," I said. I didn't want her to know that I had been eavesdropping on her and Grandmother Sarafina, so I kept my face clean, looked at her and said, "Why, where are you going and what time will you be back?"

"Oh … well I've just got some errands to run," she said, smiling as she said this, but I could tell she didn't mean this because she had the "smile of innocence" written across her face. "And I don't know when I'll be back," Grandmother Sarabi continued, "so I suppose you'll see me when you see me."

"OK," I said. She smiled appreciatively at me, kissed me lightly on the head and took the plate from out of my hands. Then she walked to the door and downstairs, with me light on her heels.

It was sometime before lunch when Grandmother Sarabi returned home. Before she had, me and Grandmother Sarafina were lounging about in the garden, seeing as it was another warm sunny day without a cloud in the sky. I knew she had returned, for there was a loud _crack_ing sound, and she had instantly reappeared. She looked happy about something, and there was no need to say anything out loud, for I could tell what had happened; Grandmother Sarabi had convinced Crighton to not send any more letters to me until my birthday came. It turns out that Crighton wasn't too thrilled, but she had agreed, nonetheless – I found out that she had told Grandmother Sarabi this, seeing as I eavesdropped on my grandmothers again that night while they thought that I was asleep in bed.

But the trouble didn't stop there – oh no! Crighton was going to do everything in her power to make sure that I got my letter, birthday or no birthday!

For the next few weeks, my grandmothers tried to act normal, but things at the cottage were far from normal, because Crighton was still trying to get the letters from Dragon Mort to me. I didn't mention anything about the conversations I had overheard between my grandmothers, because I knew that they would get angry at me, so I kept my face straight and kept my mouth shut tight. But back to the letters; you see, Crighton was trying to get the letters to me every morning without fail, but my grandmothers got them before I could even get to them and burnt them in the fire. It continued like this for two straight weeks before Grandmother Sarabi got so tired and impatient of this before she went out again and spoke to Crighton. From what I heard later on – eavesdropping again, of course – the two women had had an argument, and in the end, Crighton had reluctantly agreed to stop sending me letters until my eleventh birthday came. I know that my grandmothers weren't letting me see the letters until my eleventh birthday came along, but that didn't mean that I didn't have a right to know what was going on long before then. After all, I was still living under their roof, wasn't I? Therefore, I was part of the household and had a right to know what was going on as well as the next person.

Things went back to normal from then on. But the night before my birthday came, Grandmother Sarabi came into my room – which was something that she hadn't done since I was nine, and she tucked me in every night. I was already in bed when she came in and sat on my bed.

"Sorry to disturb you, darling," Grandmother Sirabi said, as she saw how comfortable I was lying. "Were you on your way to "the land of nod"?"

"No, Grandmother Sarabi," I replied. "I just got in, actually."

"Oh good, because there is something that I need to discuss with you, my child. Now, the thing is – "

"Is it about the letters that kept coming for me?" I asked her earnestly. "Are you going to give me one soon?"

"In answer to your first question, yes, it is about the letters that me and Sarafina kept from you," Grandmother Sarabi said, stunned by my intelligence and how fast I had come to that conclusion. "And don't worry my dear, you'll be getting a letter tomorrow, I promise you that. Now, do you know where the letters are coming from?"

"They're from Dragon Mort Magical Academy, aren't they?" I asked her.

"Yes, my child, that's right," Grandmother Sarabi said, nodding and smiling at the same time.

"But why have you kept them from me, Grandmother Sarabi?" I asked her, my head drooping just a little bit.

My grandmother Sarabi sighed and then said, "Look – "she then lifted up my head so that I was looking into her eyes, "– we – meaning your grandmother Sarafina and I – kept those letters from you because there is something that you must know, but only until you reach the age of eleven, do you understand?"

"Yes, Grandmother Sarabi. But, why can't I know what important secret you and Grandmother Sarafina are keeping from me until tomorrow?"

"I'm afraid that that was Crighton's doing," Grandmother Sarabi sighed. "She made me and Sarafina swear not to tell you anything until you were eleven, because when you turn eleven, you officially become a member of the wizarding community because you are going to a wizarding school."

"Oh. OK. I understand," I told her. She smiled when I told here this and patted me on the head twice before she said, "Good girl. Right, I'll see you in the morning." She kissed me lightly on the head then, and said lightly, "I love you, Kiara."

"I love you too, Grandmother Sarabi," I said as I kissed her back. Then we hugged, and she let me go, went to my bedroom door, turned back to me and blew me a kiss, before she smiled and shut the door behind her. I then turned over toward my window and shut my eyes. Before I knew it, I was deeply asleep.

When I awoke the next morning, I noticed that the morning was once again bright. Good, I thought to myself as I got up, this means that I'm going to have another birthday party! Yay! Once I was washed and went back to my room, I noticed two things: 1), there was a new light-golden dress with a piece of sky-blue ribbon around the front with some indigo-blue pants and sparkling dark-golden shoes on my bed, with a note on top of it that said: _Kiara, do not wear this until after you've had your breakfast this morning. Happy birthday, darling. Love, your dear grandmothers, Sarabi and Sarafina. Xoxo. _And 2), I noticed that there was the sound of cooking coming from the kitchen, which I quickly reminded myself, was my grandmothers cooking breakfast, seeing as they had agreed to do the cooking when it was my birthday and Christmas and New Year's mornings.

After I had put my pyjamas back on and put the towel back in the bathroom, I went own the spiral stone staircase and opened the door to the kitchen. When I opened the door, I noticed that the breakfast was laid perfectly out on the table as I had often laid it.

Suddenly, my grandmothers and Crooks jumped out of the shadows. "Surprise! Happy Birthday, Kiara!" my grandmothers said, hugging me and both of them kissing me lightly on the head. Then they let me go and we sat down at the table and ate. When we were finished and Grandmother Sarabi was reading the paper still and Grandmother Sarafina was doing the washing up, I looked eagerly out the window, but there was no sign of an owl flying towards the cottage with another of those letters for me. I was confused; hadn't Grandmother Sarabi told me last night that I would receive one of those letters _today_? I had to ask what was going on.

"Grandmother Sarabi?" I asked her cautiously, for she hated it when people interrupted her whilst she was readin the morning paper. "Why hasn't my letter come yet, like you said it would?"

"What letter, dear?" she said confused.

"The letter from Dragon Mort, of course," I said to her earnestly. "I thought you said that it would be coming today."

"Ah, that letter, silly me," Grandmother Sarabi said, chuckling at her own foolishness, I presumed. "Well, that letter is coming to you later on today by someone from the school, but it will be late at night when you receive it, all right, darling?"

"I understand, Grandmother," I said to her. "But why does someone from – "

"Someone from the school has to deliver it to you?" Grandmother Sarabi finished for me. When I nodded, she said: "Well, they have to explain certain things to you about the wizarding world and the rules and things like that, but don't worry dear – "she said, patting me on the shoulder – "I'll be there with you, all right?"

"Yes, Grandmother Sirabi," I said. I then looked around, wondering when I was going to get my presents. "Grandmother Sarabi, when will I get my presents this year?"

"Oh, you'll be receiving those at the party this afternoon," Grandmother Sarafina said from the sink. "We didn't want you to have anything from us yet because we didn't want it to be unfair on our guests if we gave you something before your friends did, just because we're your family. Now, why don't you go and put on that nice new dress of yours and we'll see what we can do to pass the time until the party starts."

"OK," I said, as I got out of my chair. As I reached the kitchen door, I said, "What time does the party start?"

"Midday," Grandmother Sarafina answered simply. "Now, go and get ready. Sirabi has put some make-up in your bedside-table's drawer, so bring that down and then me and Sarabi will do your make-up and hair for you, so bring your brushes down, OK? Good. Go on now." Then she turned back to the washing up and Grandmother Sarabi turned her attention back to the paper as I dashed up the stone spiral staircase to my room.

The dress was beautiful and flowing, with ruffles from the waist down to my knees, the footless tights reached my ankles where they showed off the dark-gold sparkling pumps, with a flower sticking out of both near the toe ends. I noticed that there was also a medium-golden shrug on the bed, and a pale-blue plastic flower with a clip on, which went in my hair. I took a long look at myself in the mirror, shocked at how beautiful I looked. But it was only when Grandmother Sarabi yelled, "Kiara! Come down dear! Now!" She sounded serious, so I sighed and turned away from the mirror, grabbing the make-up kit, my brushes out of my bedside-dresser draw and the pale blue flower off my bed before making my way downstairs again.

My grandmothers' faces lit up when they saw me. "Oh, Kiara!" Grandmother Sarabi sighed, whereas Grandmother Sarafina started crying and said, "You look so beautiful!" They then hugged me and grabbed the make-up kit and the brushes and the flower out of my hand. Grandmother Sarabi said that she wanted to do my make-up, so Sarafina got started on my hair. I kept quiet as I felt the gentle pull of the brushes as they moved through my hair, and I followed what grandmother Sarabi said as she focussed on my face and nails. Grandmother Sarafina was done before Grandmother Sarabi; Grandmother Sarafina had got a curler and did some girlish curls around the ends of my hair, and the last thing I felt from her hands was when she was pulling my fringes around the back of my head and attaching something heavy to it, which wasn't the pale-blue plastic flower – which went on the top right side of my head. A few minutes later Grandmother Sarabi was fully done with my nails and head.

"Well, do you think we've done a good enough job on our granddaughter, Sara?" Grandmother Sarabi asked her cautiously.

"Yes, I think so," Grandmother Sarafina said, nodding in appreciation. "I must say, Sarabi, nice job on her face and I _love_ those sparkles that you have put on her nails. She looks so pretty!"

"Or granddaughter looks anything _but_ pretty, Sarafina," Grandmother Sarabi said disapprovingly to that comment, "but yes, she does. And may I just say you've done a nice job with her hair. I love the girlish curls at the ends of her hair. She looks just like a princess would." My grandmothers then nodded at some private joke, but I didn't know I was royalty back then. But that didn't bother me so much.

"Excuse me, but don't I get a say in this?" I asked my grandmothers impatiently, leaning forward so I could look imploringly at them. They were a little bit shocked by this remark, but they quickly redeemed themselves, for Grandmother Sarafina said to me, "Of course you do, Kiara. Sorry dear, we were just caught up with our conversation that we forgot that you would like to see what you look like. Sarabi, why don't we take Kiara back to her room?"

"Why do you two want to come with me?" I asked them suspiciously, feeling slightly annoyed now.

"We just want to see your reaction, dear," Grandmother Sarabi said gently.

"Oh," I said, "OK then." And I led the way up the stairs, with my grandmothers following me, practically bursting with joy. When the three of us got outside my bedroom door, Grandmother Sarabi covered my eyes. "Hey, what gives?" I asked, annoyed.

"Sorry, dear, but we want it to be a surprise," Grandmother Sarabi said gently, as she guided me towards my room. I felt my bedroom door open and I walked slowly towards my mirror. When Grandmother Sarabi stopped, so did I. "Ready?" my grandmothers asked, and I could hear smiles in their voices.

"Ready," I said, feeling slightly nervous, wondering what exactly they had done to me.

"OK then, open your eyes," Grandmother Sarabi said, taking her hands away. As soon as her hands were away from my eyes, I opened them. My grandmothers were standing behind my back on either side of me, both smiling at the look of shock on my face. But what shocked me was how I looked. My face was a creamy-peach colour, my cheeks a warm gold, with gold eye shadow, some blue mascara on my eye-lashes and some gold sparkles near my eyes that went up to my head. My lips were rose red and they were shining because of the lip gloss. I then looked at my fingernails, which were painted gold and blue, but in a pattern though; my thumbnail was painted blue, then my index fingernail was painted gold, and you get the idea with that. I then looked at my hair, and I loved what Grandmother Sarafina had done with it; she had pulled my fringes around to the back along with the hair on my crown and the heavy object that was attached there was a large sapphire-blue jewelled flower, which covered most of my head, I could see the pale-blue orchid perched delicately on the right side of my head and the girlish curls around the front of my dress and back as I twirled in front of the mirror, and I could see what Grandmother Sarabi had said about me looking like a princess.

I could hear my grandmothers chuckling in appreciation, and I heard Grandmother Sarafina saying to Grandmother Sarabi, "See, I told you she'd love our work."

I saw Grandmother Sarabi nod once at her and she stepped next to me and said, "Well, do you like what we've done, dear?"

I turned to both my grandmothers and said, "I love it! Thank you, both of you, you've done a wonderful job!" I then hugged them both and they stood back to appreciate me, and I them.

"Well, shall we get this party started, then?" I asked my grandmothers, clapping my hands together and heading towards the door; but before I reached it, Grandmother Sirabi stopped me and pushed me a little back.

"Not just yet, Kiara," she said apologetically. "Sarabi and I still have a little setting up to do in the back garden. And whilst we do that, you can watch TV whilst you wait for the guests to arrive, all right, sweetheart?"

"All right," I sighed, leading the way back downstairs.

I heard them setting up the tables, food and various other things - most they already had from previous birthdays - and others they had either bought new or ordered for the occasion, plus, a DJ – and then I heard the backdoor slam. I turned toward them, curious as why my grandmothers – who were currently heading towards the stairs – had finished early and were coming back in. "Hey!" I said to them. They turned to see me, startled. "Why are you heading upstairs?"

"Oh, we're going to get ready and we left the camera upstairs, but we'll be back down before our guests arrive, don't worry," said Grandmother Sarafina, winking at me. Then, and Grandmother Sarabi headed up stairs, whilst I tried to concentrate on the TV.

When they came back down stairs and I looked at them, I couldn't believe I was staring at my grandmothers. Grandmother Sarabi had her hair up in a tight bun, with two hair slides on either side of her head; with red tulips on top of them (the hair slides are silver). She was wearing a strapless red dress, which came just above her ankles. Her shoes were sparkly red and middle heeled, and she was wearing earrings that were gold, with the African sun on them, as was also my Grandmother Sarafina. She was wearing a knee-length, jade-green dress with jade-green sparkly shoes to match. Her long hair was tied up in a ponytail, with a hair clip which went across the back of the head, attaching part of the ponytail to the hair on her skull, so that the rest of her hair hung down, coming just below her shoulders. She had two hair slides on either side of her head – just like Grandmother Sarabi's – and they were silver, but had emerald green orchids on top and the hair clip I mentioned before was also emerald green. Both my grandmothers' faces looked equally beautiful; cream coloured faces with rosy coloured blusher on their cheeks, red eye shadow and nail polish for one, green eye shadow and nail polish for the other – look above if you're confused about what I'm saying here. Black mascara covered their eyelashes, and a gold necklace with a red tulip at the collar bone hung around one of my grandmothers' neck, and a gold necklace with an emerald orchid hung around my other grandmothers' neck.

I hugged them both, and for a few minutes each of my grandmothers took turns in holding the camera, whilst I smiled and hugged my grandmothers, as perfect a moment as anyone could imagine. When the doorbell rang, me and my grandmothers broke apart from the last shot, just as it was done – seeing as the camera had a timer set on it – and as my grandmothers went to answer the door, I went out to the back garden to wait for my friends.

The set-up for my birthday party was beautiful: gold and blue streamers ran down from the apple tree, a large buffet table was set up by the back gate with a space left in the middle for my birthday cake; a large space was left in the middle so that we could dance, with chairs around it so that we could all sit while we ate; to the left of the dance floor was the DJ and his decks, and to the right was the space for the gifts. The sun was shining high above us, keeping us all warm and safe with its beautiful, radiant rays; and as I sat down, looking out at how perfect this moment was and how beautiful everything looked, I closed my eyes and breathed in and out softly before I opened them again. And in that moment it was almost perfect, for I wished – as I did every birthday – that my parents would be there to enjoy my special day.

When I heard footsteps coming towards the back garden, I quickly stood up, brushed myself down and faced my friends – Muggle and wizards (Mina comes in a bit, so be patient with me) – who carried lots of gifts for me. They put them under their arms as they came forward to hug me, whispering as they did "you look great" and "you are beautiful" and "I've never seen you look as beautiful than you are today". My grandmothers also got praise on how they dressed me and how they did my make-up.

This party went on for a while with lots of games and stuff and dancing and music, so I'll just skip right to the end of it, because I know that all of you reading this are desperate for me to get to the part where Mina comes in. So, here goes.

My grandmothers' party was a big success – as per usual. Before everyone went home for the evening, they all congratulated me on how I looked, and I thanked them for getting me such pretty, expensive and great gifts – such as CDs, DVDs, jewellery, clothes – gold and blue, of course – and other stuff. We all had such fun, with dancing and stuffing our faces with food until some of us were almost sick – it happens – and the cake was superb. But the blowing of the candles was the best bit. A blue orchid sat in the middle of the cake, and when it opened, a dozen mini blue fireworks burst out of it, and it played the most beautiful lullaby. Everyone sighed at this, sang "Happy Birthday" to me, applauded at the party and the DJ – who was just about to set off home – and then everyone went home with their parents, each talking about how wonderful a birthday it was. I sat down and gazed up at the stars, thinking about my parents and thinking how beautiful those stars shone, and how brightly they shone also.

My grandmother Sarafina kissed me on the cheek, saying that she was spending a few days with my aunt, uncle and cousin. I nodded, kissed her back on the cheek, said goodnight, and then she walked into the kitchen.

When I heard the front door distantly slam, Grandmother Sarabi sat down next to me and put her arm around my shoulder.

"So, did you have a good birthday?" she asked me.

"Oh, yes, it was wonderful," I answered her.

"I'm glad that you enjoyed it, my child," Grandmother Sarabi said to me, kissing me lightly on the cheek. Oh, I forgot to mention the party finished at five to eight, and for a few minutes we were both silent. Suddenly, making me jump, Grandmother Sarabi gasped and pointed at the night's sky.

"Kiara, look!" she cried, pointing up at the sky.

As I looked at the sky, I saw what I had always wanted to see outside my bedroom window. At first it looked like the stars were falling from the heavens, but as I looked more closely, I realised that some of them were flickering, so they couldn't be stars – after all, stars don't flicker – and they were the lanterns (I understand now that those lanterns were there as a sign to welcome me back into the wizarding world, just so you know). They looked so beautiful out – I always saw them from my bedroom window; the reason my grandmother said that the lanterns are all for me was because I asked her about them many years before, but she denied what I said. Anyhoo, the weirdest thing about that night was that I saw a lantern bobbing in the distance – hang on, _bobbing_? That can't be right? – But its true, it was bobbing towards us, which meant that someone was carrying it.

"Er – Grandmother Sarabi?"

"Yes, Kiara?"

"Who is that in the distance carrying that lantern?"

Grandmother Sarabi narrowed her eyes for a moment, staring at the bobbing light in the distance, and then they widened, and an excited smile came across her face. "Oh, thank goodness, I wondered when she was going to come." Then she practically jumped out of her seat, turned to me and said, "Kiara, stay here and don't worry. Everything's going to be all right, you'll see. Just wait here, I'll be back in a moment." And before I could say anything, she turned, ran to the gate, flung it open and ran to meet the person holding the bobbing light.

For a couple of minutes, everything was peaceful and still, but I was a bit apprehensive for my grandmother's safety. But when I saw the bobbing light moving back towards me, I was frightened for my own safety, as well as my grandmothers. I mean, what if this person was an assassin? Oh no, escaping one attack and then almost eleven years later, have someone coming to finish off the work? What was I going to do? Fortunately though, I needn't have feared, because when they came back through the gate, I could see that my grandmother Sirabi was alive and well, and I breathed easy, knowing that we were both going to be fine, for Grandmother Sarabi was speaking to the woman – yes, I could see that it was a woman – as if they had been on good speaking terms for many years. But as they came closer, it struck me how tall this woman actually was.

She was _huge_: her hands were the size of dustbin lids and her feet the size of baby dolphins; her ebony hair was tied back in a bun on top of her wide head; her eyebrows were perfectly curved, as were her lips and her eyes were a beautiful oak brown. She was wearing a shirt whose sleeves were rolled up with a sleeveless fleece – which had ice packs in the inside to keep her cool in the summer months – and a long denim skirt and thick black boots. Grandmother Sarabi and this woman were laughing as they stood in front of me. I was intimidated by this strange woman's height and the strength which you could see in her muscles. I stood up and walked to greet her as my grandmother Sarabi came to meet me. When I was near enough to see her, she looked me over with the light of the lantern so that she could see me and said to Grandmother Sarabi, "Blimey, Sarabi! You weren't kiddin' when you said she looks like Nala!" the woman said, with a light chuckle.

Grandmother Sarabi also laughed as I said to the strange, extremely tall woman, "Are you Mina Wickes, by any chance?"

"Oh Kiara, forgive my foolishness," Grandmother Sarabi said. "Yes my dear, you are right. This is Mina Wickes. Mina –" turning to her – "you've just met my granddaughter, Kiara."

Mina smiled easily at me with kindness twinkling like stars in the highlights of her eyes, just as I smiled easily back. She gave the lantern to Grandmother Sarabi, as she reached inside the right front pocket of her fleece and pulled out of it an envelope which she gave to me.

I breathed a sigh of relief at finally receiving my letter.

0000

_**AU: *Please note, Kiara has been told by her lawyers that she cannot say the name of the village, so respect her. Thank you. K.J.A.**_


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

**The Grounds Keeper – and I finally get my letter!**

My relief suddenly turned into shock. "Is this actually happening?" I asked them both, staring at my letter and then looking from one person to the other and back again. "Is this really the letter that I have been waiting for?"

"Yes, my child it really is," said Grandmother Sarabi, smiling at me. I couldn't say a word. I was speechless. I couldn't believe that after waiting three months, my letter had finally got here!

"What is it, my dear?" asked my grandmother, confused.

"It's just that I can't believe that I've finally got my letter," I said.

Grandmother Sarabi chuckled and said, "Well, come on my dear, open it before the night ends." The three of us chuckled and I opened up my letter. Inside it contained two heavy pieces of thick paper – which I now know as parchment – and a small, thin piece of paper which was a ticket. I took out the first piece of paper and this is what it said:

_DRAGON MORT MAGICAL ACADEMY_

_Dear Miss Pride-Lander,_

_We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at Dragon Mort Magical Academy. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment for the forthcoming year._

_Term begins on 1__st__ September. We await your owl by no later than July 31__st__._

_We hope that you are well and that you will join our family soon._

_Yours sincerely,_

_Deidre Darbus_

_Deputy Headmistress_

Questions immediately exploded in my head, and my heart was fit to burst with excitement; after all, I had been waiting for this moment my entire life. The first question I asked was, "What does it mean when it says they await my answer by owl?"

"Oh, that reminds me," gasped Mina, and she groped around in her coat for things. A few minutes later and she pulled out a quill, ink, parchment and a rather ruffle-feathered owl. She went over to a table and I saw what she was writing. It read:

_Dear Professor Crighton,_

_I have given Kiara her letter. Returning to Dragon Mort soon. Weather's lovely here. See you soon,_

_Mina_

She gave the note to the owl, which clamped the note in its beak and then flew off into the night with it. Then she turned back to us.

"If you're the groundskeeper, you must take care of a lot of creatures, don't you?" I asked her.

"Yeah, I do. But what I've always really wanted is a dragon more than anythin'."

Mina sighed, looked at her watch and then looked at Grandmother Sarabi.

"Well, I've no more to do here, so I'll just be setting off now," said Mina.

"Wait, who's going to be taking me to get my school stuff?" I asked.

"I will take you, Kiara, don't you fret," said my grandmother, patting me gently on the head.

"Oh, OK," I said.

"Thanks for coming, Mina," said Grandmother Sarabi, turning to her.

"Oh, anytime. Af'er all, anythin' fer yer gran'daughter." She turned to go, but she turned back to my grandmother and said, "By the way, have you told Kiara yet about you-know-what?"

"Not yet, but I'll tell her before she goes off to Dragon Mort, don't you worry," Grandmother Sarabi said.

"Yer make sure that yeh do, otherwise Crighton won't be too happy with you," said Mina. Both women nodded to each other as ways of understanding each other, of course, I didn't know what either of them was talking about at the time, but read the next chapter to find out.

Mina turned to me then and said, "See yeh at Dragon Mort, Kiara."

"See you soon, Mina."

Mina turned to my grandmother next. "Sarabi," she said, nodding.

"Mina," Grandmother Sirabi said, nodding back at her.

Then Mina turned on her heel and walked off. When she got past the gate, she turned back to us and waved. We waved back. Then Mina disappeared.

"Wow!" I gasped.

"I know," Grandmother Sarabi chuckled. "Wait here, I'll be right back." and she dashed inside for something. I looked at the sky again at all the beautiful lanterns, and wondered what they were doing there. I jumped when I saw Grandmother Sarabi at the table where Mina had wrote her letter to Crighton before. She waved to me to come and join her, so I ran over to her. She held something behind her back and a huge smile was spread across her face. As I sat down, she took the hand from behind her back and showed me her own lantern that she and I had made the day before. I was so surprised that I could feel my eyes almost jumping out of their sockets. Grandmother Sarabi laughed so hard at the look on my face.

"You said yesterday that this was a decoration for my room," I said, surprised.

"Well, yes and no."

"Yes _and_ no?" I asked sardonically.

"Well I made another one for the lamp hanging down from the ceiling in your room with some special features adjusted to it. You'll see what I mean when you get there."

"But what's this all about then?"

"These lanterns are all for your benefit, Kiara," Grandmother Sarabi said.

"For me! But, why?" I asked.

"Yes, my child, for you. You see, every year on your birthday, people all over the world – and in this country also – light the lanterns and send them into the sky in the hope that some day you will connect with them and will rejoin the wizarding world once again very soon. And that day is today."

She placed the lantern on the table and handed me a long match. I clicked my fingers and the match was lit. I then lit the lantern and it glowed a fiery-golden glow which was so beautiful and magical to behold. I smiled at my grandmother and she smiled and nodded at me. I then took the lantern, stood up with it and raised it into the sky. What happened next was so magical that it will remain with me forever and it was amazing.

The lanterns all connected with each other with the same fiery-golden glow from my lantern. It was so amazing that my grandmother Sirabi took pictures of it and Muggles thought that aliens had made contact with the earth in some strange message that confounded everyone.

My grandmother and I talked about it a lot that night and because it was my birthday, I was allowed to stay up later than usual. It was ten o'clock before I went to bed that night.

Grandmother Sarabi gave me a bath that night and helped me remove my make-up and get into bed. We had a mug of hot chocolate before I turned in for the night. She tucked me in and put our mugs back on the tray in my room which we had them in.

"So, do you like the lamp in your room?" she asked, sitting down on the edge of my bed.

"I love it! Thank you, Grandmother!" I said, hugging her.

"Your welcome, sweetheart," she said, hugging me back. I looked up and saw the lampshade; it was exactly the same as the lantern we had sent up into the sky earlier, and the same fiery-golden glow was everywhere in my room. It was beautiful.

After I had leant back in bed, Grandmother looked at me and said, "So, did you have a good birthday?"

"It was the best one yet. Thanks for the party."

"Your welcome." She then kissed me on the head, took the tray and walked to my bedroom door. She turned and looked at me. "Get some sleep. We've got a lot of shopping to do tomorrow."

"I will," I said, shuffling in my bed to get comfy.

"Goodnight, sweetheart. I love you very much," said Grandmother Sarabi as she turned out my light so only the light from the stairs shone through my door.

"I love you, too, Grandmother," I said to her.

She turned round and shut my door quietly behind her. I heard her footsteps going downstairs, the closing of a door and silence. I lay gazing at my parents faces on their wedding day as I was falling asleep.

I was just sliding into unconsciousness when a golden light shone throughout my room. I wondered to myself what was going on when I heard footsteps in my room coming closer and closer to my bed. I pulled the cover up to my eyes and almost yelled for my grandmothers when a voice over my bed said, "No, don't shout for your grandmother. I'm not going to hurt you."

I pulled the cover off, sat up and turned on my light. I saw a man stood there, tall, thin, with a bushy beard and shaggy hair. His fringes reached his waist as did his hair, which were both tawny-brown, and his eyes were of a light shade of amber just like his brows, which were staring at me with concern. I looked at him and at the picture of my parents and back again and realised that standing before my very eyes was my father! But he wasn't all there, for he had a strange glow around him. What was that all about!?

"Daddy? Is that you?" I asked him, amazed.

He smiled at me and said, "Yes, my child, it's me." He sat down on my bed and looked at me.

"Are you a ghost?" I asked him, looking at the strange glow around him.

"No, I've come from my dream with my animal spirit. If we witches and wizards don't want to come back as ghosts, we can come back in our animal spirits and turn into our human forms whenever we like. But, don't worry, I'm not dead and nor is your mother."

"I'm glad to hear that," I said. "But, can I still touch you?"

My father chuckled and held out his hand. I touched it, felt amazed that I could touch him, and was taken aback in amazement. I looked at him, saw that he was still smiling at me and I hugged him, and he hugged me. He chuckled and held me tighter.

"Oh, I have dreamed of the day that I would be seeing you again, my daughter," he sighed as he let me go.

"And I you, Daddy," I said. "But what about Mum? Where's she?"

"She's safe, don't worry. It's just me you're seeing right now."

"Yeah, I can see that," I said to him. "But where are you and Mum?"

"Wait a minute," he said, stopping me before I could say anything else. "My mother and Nala's mother haven't told you where me and your mother are?"

"No," I sighed, looking down and shaking my head. "It's like they're ashamed of you, like you've done something terrible."

My father thought for a moment, and then nodded. "Well, I'm not too impressed, but it's probably for the best that you don't know just yet."

"It is?" I asked him in surprise.

"Yes, my daughter, it is. Wait a few years, and then you will know and understand when you're old enough."

I thought about this for a moment, and then decided to agree with him. "OK, Daddy, I'll wait just for you."

"That's my girl," he said, smiling. He kissed me on the cheek and leaned back. "So, you're eleven now?"

"Yes."

"Wow. I can't believe how much you've grown. You were only a baby when your mother and I let you go."

"But why did you and Mum let me go, Daddy?"

"It was for the best, Kiara. Me and your mother had to protect you somehow, and my mother and Nala's mother seemed like the best option we had."

"But what were you protecting me from?" I asked him, wondering what he was going on about.

"My mother will probably tell you tomorrow," he said. Then he didn't say anything for a few minutes, and stared at me.

"What is it?" I asked him.

"It's just that I'm surprised how much you've grown and how much you look like your mother."

"Thanks, Daddy," I said. And before I could say anything else, he started to fade.

"Daddy, you're fading!" I gasped.

He looked at himself, looked back at me and pulled me close to him. "I'm waking up, I can feel it!"

"No, Daddy, don't leave me!"

"I will never leave you, Kiara! I am always a part of you! Never forget that!"

"I won't!" I said, as we let go of each other and he got off of my bed and walked back still looking at me. "I love you, Daddy! Give my love to Mum for me!"

"I will my daughter! And I love you, too!" he yelled as he faded into the darkness. And all was still again.

It took me a while to fall asleep that night, because even though it was my birthday, I was still upset that my father had left me and I quietly cried myself to sleep that night as I didn't know when my grandmother would come back upstairs and go to bed.

But after crying for a bit, I calmed myself down and did some thinking. For you see, even though it would be a _long_ while before I would be with my parents again – like the family we wanted to be – I knew that I was never alone, for I would always be with my father in my dreams.

Nighty night!


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

**Me and my Grandmother Sarabi go to Brickabon Alley **

I was awakened next morning by padding noises outside my bedroom window. I opened the curtains and looked out; turns out it was Crooks clawing at the window to be let in. I sighed, opened the window and let him inside. When he jumped on my bed, I saw a piece of tightly folded-up paper tucked in his flea collar. I took it out and unfolded it. It read:

_Kiara,_

_I took the liberty of making sure you got a lie-in this morning and I have also made breakfast for us, seeing as we had a late night last night. Now hurry up and get washed and dressed before the breakfast gets cold, for we've got a lot to do today. See you in a bit._

_Grandmother Sarabi_

I took a look outside my window and saw the sun shining through it and the trees and the valley; it looked like something out of a fairy tale. I closed my window and looked at my clock; it was 09:10 in the morning! She really had let me sleep in! I got up, got some clothes for the day, got my wash bag and put on my slippers and dressing gown. Before I did anything else, I looked at my bedroom door and saw Crooks meowing and clawing at it.

"Aw, do you want to be let out, little buddy?" I asked him. He looked at me and blinked once, which I took for a yes.

"Well, it's a good thing we both want to get out of this room this morning," I said to myself. As I said this, I heard the _hiss_ of something being cooking, and I thought that I had better hurry up. So I opened the door and me and the cat went out the door at the same time, and that was where we parted for the time being; he for the kitchen and I for the bathroom. So I shut my door and went there.

When I had made myself presentable, I went downstairs to the kitchen and saw the breakfast laid out beautifully, with Grandmother Sarabi sitting in her usual spot, reading the morning paper and eating. She looked up as I entered and smiled at me.

"Good morning, Grandmother Sarabi," I said to her. "You've presented the breakfast beautifully."

"Why, thank you, my child, and good morning to you," she replied as I sat down. "So," she said, as she put down her paper, "did you sleep well last night?"

"Perfectly well, Grandmother, thank you. You?"

"Very well, my dear."

"So," I said, as I took a bite out of a piece of toast, "what's the plan for today? When are we setting off?"

"Well, Sarafina's coming at ten, so that should give us plenty of time to get prepared. And don't worry; I'll help you out with anything that you need to buy. And that reminds me, where's your school letter?"

"It's in my dressing table draw, Grandmother."

"Very good. I was just asking so that I know where it is we'll need it for today, so make sure you have it with you when we go."

"Don't worry Grandmother, I will."

She smiled at me and picked up the paper again and I ate. I agreed to do the dishes seeing as she had made the breakfast. I went upstairs, made my bed, came back down and watched some good TV.

At ten o'clock on the dot, the doorbell rang. Grandmother Sarabi jumped off the sofa. "That'll be Sarafina," she said, running to get the door. I dot up, wondering what to do when my grandmothers came in.

"Good morning, Grandmother Sarafina," I said, as we embraced.

"Good morning, sweetheart," Grandmother Sarafina said as we let go of each other and we both stood back. Then she looked at Grandmother Sarabi. "You well, Sarabi?"

"Very. You?"

"Very."

"Good. How are the Smiths?"

"Moody and complaining as usual, but well." We all laughed hard at this. Grandmother Sarafina took her coat off and sat down on the sofa as Grandmother Sarabi spoke to her: "I don't know when we'll be back, but I'll keep you posted via mobile."

"All right, Sarabi."

Grandmother Sarabi nodded at her and then turned to me. "Do you have everything you need for today, Kiara?" she asked.

"No, but I'll be back in a minute," I said and I dashed up the stairs to my room to get my letter. When I got back down, I went out into the hall and I saw my grandmothers talking, but they suddenly stopped when they looked at me. Grandmother Sarabi was holding some car keys in one hand and a coat in another, for she already had hers on.

"Put your coat on, Kiara, you might get cold when we're out today," Grandmother Sarabi said, handing my coat to me.

"Yes, Grandmother Sarabi," I said, obeying her.

"Right, let's go. The car's out front, right?"

"Don't worry, Sarabi. I parked it right outside the garage for you."

"Thanks Sarafina," said Grandmother Sarabi to Grandmother Sarafina, hugging her. Then she turned to me. "Come on, missy. Let's go." She opened the door, Grandmother Sarafina hugged and kissed me and then she let me go. Me and Grandmother Sirabi walked out the door.

"See you later, Grandmother Sarafina!" I yelled to her.

"Bye, Kiara!" she yelled back. "Be good for Sarabi!"

"I will!" I yelled, and then I turned and followed Grandmother Sarabi to the car. As we walked I heard the door of the cottage slam. Grandmother Sirabi unlocked the car and we got in, she in the drivers seat, and me in the front passenger seat.

"So, where are we going to get my school stuff, Grandmother?" I asked her.

"I'm keeping it a surprise for you," Grandmother Sarabi chuckled. "Now, wave goodbye to Sarafina," she said as she started the car. As we drove past the front of the cottage, we looked back and saw Grandmother Sarafina at the window in between the kitchen and the lounge waving at us, so we waved back at her until we rounded the corner and she disappeared from our view.

I looked out of the window, looking at the trees and hills that flew beside us. "Grandmother Sarabi?" I asked suddenly, without thinking. "Can't you tell me anything about where we're going?"

"Well, I can tell you _one_ thing."

"And what's that?"

"Where we're going isn't in this part of the British isles."

"You mean – " I gasped excitedly.

"Yes, my child," she said, smiling as she did, "for the first time in your life, you are going outside of Wales."

I screamed in the car with pure delight; I couldn't believe it! My whole life I'd dreamt of getting out of Wales for a time, and finally the moment had arrived. Grandmother Sarabi laughed and I laughed, and for a time, that's all we did – until Grandmother Sarabi calmed down and switched on the car radio that is – but I didn't mind a bit, because I was perfectly happy, happier than I'd been for a long time!

After we had stopped laughing, my grandmother said to me, "Take out your letter, Kiara. There'll be a shopping list in there with your supplies for the next year on. Let's see what we have to buy today."

I unfolded the second piece of paper and read:

_DRAGON MORT MAGICAL ACADEMY_

Uniform

_First-year students will require:_

_5 standard pairs of navy robes (One for every week, for wash purposes), along with name tags._

_10 pairs of navy socks_

_One black winter cloak (with silver fastenings)_

_One plain pointed hat (black)for start- and end-of-term feasts_

_One pair protective gloves (dragon hide or similar) _

_NOTE: All students will receive house ties, jumpers and scarves when they go to their dormitories, because of house colours._

Set Books

_All students should have a copy of each of the following:_

The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) _by Miranda Goshawk_

A History of Magic _by Bathilda Bagshot_

Magical Theory _by Adalbert Waffling_

A Beginners Guide to Transfiguration _by Emeric Switch_

One thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi _by Phyllida Spore_

Magical Draughts and Potions _by Arsenius Jigger_

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them _by Newt Scamander_

The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection _by Quentin Trimble_

A Guide to 20th Century Magical History _by Bartholomew Baggins_

Other Equipment

_1 wand_

_1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)_

_1 set of crystal phials_

_1 telescope_

_1 set brass scales_

_Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad_

_PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST-YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS. _

"Can we buy all this … wherever it is we're going?" I asked my grandmother.

My grandmother turned to me, smiled and said, "If you know where to go."

We had to drive for a few hours along the motorway, making a few stops a long the way for a bite to eat and to fill up and other stuff, but eventually we reached our destination. We were in Southport! My grandmother parked in the car park just outside of the train station. She parked it, got a pay and display card for it and we both got out.

I looked around; everything seemed so strange here outside the village that I was used to. I mean, yes the sun was shining, but everything was grey and straight and nothing here was really green. I was a little overwhelmed and scared by it, but I was glad that my Grandmother Sarabi was there with me, because if she wasn't, I would have probably been freaking out and crying and I wouldn't have known what to do. Grandmother Sarabi came round to my side and looked at me.

"Are you all right, sweetheart?" she asked, looking at me with a lot of concern.

"Yeah, its just that this is all a bit weird for me, being in a strange place and seeing different things around me."

Grandmother Sarabi bent down and looked at me. "Being in a new place is strange and scary for anyone, but its all part of life and something that we all have to deal with at different parts in all our lives." She gave me a reassuring smile and we hugged. When she let go of me she asked, "Have you still got your letter?" I took the letter out of my right pocket. She nodded, said "All right. Let's go." And I took her hand and off we went.

We passed the train station and went up through Chapel Street, seeing people doing their daily shopping. This was weird for me because our village was a tiny community and there everyone new each other and talked to each other. But here, everyone was walking around, and no one was stopping to talk to anyone else – and there were a lot of old people here too, which I was not expecting!

"Er – Grandmother Sarabi?" I asked nervously.

"What is it, Kiara?"

I thought for a moment and came up with nothing, so I just said this: "Everything seems weird here."

Grandmother Sarabi chuckled with tears coming from her eyes – which she quickly brushed off – and she said, "To you, Kiara, to you."

We kept walking on to East Bank Street, turned down Queen Anne's Street and walked to the public toilets. I turned my head towards Grandmother Sarabi again and asked her again, "Can we find everything I need for school here?"

She gave a small chuckle, smiled and said, " Just like I said to you before, Kiara. If you know where to go."

I stopped suddenly. Grandmother Sarabi turned to me and said surprised, What is it, child. Tell me, for you look confused.

"Well ..." I said slowly, "it's just that ... why are we here and not in London? After all, isn't that where the big shops are for wizards in this part of the world?"

"Yes, Kiara, it is," Grandmother said, "but a few years ago, after Voldemort was defeated, the Ministry decided to have a few more secret places in Muggle areas where we could all collect our shopping. Southport's the nearest one to us, you see." (I should point out here that a few years down the road, the Ministry did decide to set up other secret magical places to get their magical shopping in Wales, Scotland and Ireland, when they realised that England wasn't the only country in Great Britain. I don't exactly know the reason why for this movement, but I think that it is because the Ministry wanted to make things easier for people. I think this movement was happening over the rest of the world, too, but I can't be too sure about that. Anyhoo, on with the story.)

"But why are we here?" I then asked her. "Why have they not got one set up in Wales? Or why not Liverpool? That's a city, and not a town like this one is."

Grandmother Sarabi thought for a moment before she answered, "Well, as to why there isn't one in Wales, I don't know, but I think the reason why there isn't a secret wizard location in cities like Liverpool is simply because Southport is a town, which many simply brush over on the map; so therefore, it's kind of low-key, and we don't draw attention to ourselves. One of the many ingenious ways in which we choose to keep a low profile. Do you understand, sunshine?"

I thought about this, and nodded. We then went into the women's public toilets and came up to the wall at the very end where we stopped. My grandmother checked that no one was coming in, pulled out her wand and tapped the wall twice. Then she recited this:

"_Witching Service Inn, Come to me, _

_Reveal yourself on the tap of three."_

Then she tapped the wall once more, swirled the wand round the wall like a door, grabbed the middle tile and pulled the door open. And when it did open, I saw a long staircase which went down what looked like a very long, steep way. Grandmother Sarabi grabbed hold of my hand and led me onwards, and as we walked, I heard the door close behind us and oil lamps sprung to life as it did. The staircase seemed to go on forever (even though it was only for like five minutes), until we came to another door. Grandmother Sarabi pulled this one open, and my jaw dropped.

We had come into an underground world, where witches and wizard were seated around a few tables near a bar in a very large room, and opposite to the bar, there was a fireplace with a mantle, which had a radio placed on top. The room which also had a vast majority of doors at the other end of the room, through which people were coming and going as they pleased. A staircase near to the bar led upstairs to the bedrooms. It was incredible to think that all this was here. I looked up at Grandmother Sarabi, who laughed at the surprised look on my then led me through the inn up to the bar. As I looked behind me, I saw the door close back on the staircase. When we reached the bar, I saw a bar maid talking to a pair of witches and the barmaid herself had few teeth and a crooked back; she looked at us – well, my grandmother and not me – and showed a near-toothless grin, which my grandmother returned, for it was obvious that they had met here before.

"Ah, Sarabi," said the barmaid to her whilst pulling down a glass. "The usual I presume?"

"Not today, Dizra, no," said my grandmother to Dizra, shaking her head. "I need to help my granddaughter here buy her school supplies."

"Your granddaughter, eh? Who'd be that, then?"

For an answer, my grandmother pushed me forward into the light and pushed the hair out of my face. The barmaid looked down at me, gazed at my scar for a moment, and then jumped back in shock.

"Merlin's beard, bless my soul!" she almost shrieked in alarm which made me jump. And then after the shock of seeing me for the first time, her face broke into a smile which hid her teeth. "It's Kiara Pride-Lander!"

And in a flash, it felt like time had stood still for me, for everything stood still. The music stopped playing, people stopped moving and everyone was staring at me; it was like I had a bright stage light shining down on me. Of course I wondered what was going on at the time, but little did I know that I was going to find out the reason why at the end of the day. Anyhow, slowly people started to move again, for people were standing up to get a better look at me and they were also whispering about me. The barmaid, Dizra, came out from behind the bar and shook my hand.

"Welcome back, Miss Pride-Lander! Welcome back, indeed!" she exclaimed. And just like that, everyone started to applaud me and all came forward to shake my hand and talk to me. My grandmother smiled with joy and pride at me, and pushed me forward to greet everyone.

"It's a joy to finally meet you, Miss Pride-Lander!"

"I can't believe your back where you truly belong!"

"We're so glad you've rejoined us at last, Miss Pride-Lander!"

"She touched me! _She actually touched me!_"

"Well, K-K-Kiara P-Pride-Lander," said a voice behind me. "Can't tell you how p-pleased I am to m-m-meet you!"

Me and my grandmother both turned round and saw behind us a woman wearing lavender robes and had a turban round her head, with a few strands of loose hair dangling just below it.

"Oh, you're Professor Quarrel, aren't you?" Grandmother Sarabi asked the woman, who nervously nodded. It was clear that this teacher was new, for my Grandmother must have been told by Crighton who she was. Anyway, my grandmother smiled, nodded, turned to me and said, "Kiara, this is Professor Quarrel. She'll be your Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher at Dragon Mort."

"Oh, nice to meet you," I said to her, and we shook hands.

"Defence Against the D-D-Dark Arts … f-fascinating subject! N-not that you n-need it eh, Pride-Lander?" she chuckled nervously and shivered.

Grandmother Sarabi patted my shoulder lightly and said, "Well, we must be getting on now, lots to buy! Come, Kiara!" we walked through the people and when we reached the back door I turned back and waved at everybody and they all waved back at me. Then my Grandmother and I went slowly through the crowd towards one of the doors, that obviously led to somewhere that was wondrous and magical.

"Grandmother, why aren't we in London where Diagon Alley is?" I asked her.

"Oh, a few years ago the Ministry of Magic put a wizarding alley close to the nearest villages all over the country. This is the closest one to us, and that is why we are here. Anyway, you're famous!"

"But why am I famous, grandmother? All those people in there … I mean, how is it that they all know my name?"

Grandmother Sarabi hesitated for a moment, and then turned to me and said, "I'll tell you later, Kiara, all right?"

"All right," I sighed.

She smiled at me, nodded and then turned to the left, to where one of the doors was, pulled it open, and what I saw made my jaw drop yet again; for what stood in front of me was a large building which was completely made out of roots, bark and bracken, and the roof was completely made out of leaves, big ones like you find on banana trees, which was all surrounded by artificial sunlight. Grandmother Sarabi smiled as she took my hand and we walked through. As the door closed, she said, "This, Kiara, is where you get your money. Welcome to Fauntrotts, the wizard bank in this part of the country. There's not one safer place, not one - well, except perhaps Dragon Mort. Come on." She led me on towards the building, when something hit me.

"Grandmother, is this building made out of trees by any chance?" I asked her.

"Why, yes Kiara, it is."

"Why is that?"

"Well Kiara, the creatures that run this place are – according to legend – made from the earth and the mountains and the water – basically they're made from the forest – which is why the bank is made of trees, because they consider the forest to be their natural environment and habitat."

"Grandmother, " I said, "I'm guessing that there are fauns here, aren't there?"

"Yes, Kiara there are." She said

"Oh, cool," I said, smiling at her. She gave me a grim smile in return as we walked up the stone steps into the bank.

Before we stepped inside, I hesitated, and looked at the light around us. Grandmother Sarabi turned to me and asked, "What is it, dear? Why do you hesitate?" she looked at me confusedly, and for an answer, I looked at the light. She sighed, nodded slightly and said, "It's all artificial light, Kiara, but the tress are all real."

"But, how is that possible?" I asked her.

"Magic, Kiara," she answered simply. "Pure magic. But don't worry, they use water with a special magical ability in it that keeps these plants looking as fresh and healthy as ever. Now, come on. There is much work to be done today." She then gave me a warm, comforting smile and led me inside.

I didn't ask any more questions as we went inside, first passing a pair of great silver doors and then entering the main chamber.

I could see now as we entered why my grandmother had given me such a grim smile, because up until then I had been imagining fauns like the ones in the Narnia books my grandmother read to me when I was little. For you see, they weren't small, they were larger than life; their legs were shaped like goats legs with short little tails sticking out, but they were mostly covered with leaves and moss, and they looked like bark. They also had moss on their chests and each of them had flaming red hair which reached down to their shoulders, flat noses and dazzling blue eyes which you could melt in to if you looked in too deep. You could tell how old they were by how much moss and leaves were on their bodies and you could also tell who were the males and who were the females, not only because the females were wearing waistcoats over their bare chests, but also because the males had horns whereas the females don't.

Any way, I thought that the inside would be far different than the outside, but I was mistaken for soft grass brushed under our feet as we walked, roots and tree trunks made up the pillars and leaves of all different trees of the forest made the ceiling, connecting tightly together – even the desks there were made out of tree bark! I could here birds tweeting to each other and butterflies fluttering past my ears it was like we had entered an enchanted forest more than anything else! Leading off the hall there were too many doors for me to count. Me and my grandmother made for the counter.

"Morning," my grandmother said to a free faun. "We've come to take some money out of Miss Kiara Pride-Lander's vault."

"You have her key, madam?"

"Yes. Hang on a minute while I get it," said my grandmother as she pulled out her purse and started shifting the coins out until she finally pulled out something gold, small and shiny.

"Here it is," she said, holding up the key.

The faun looked at it closely.

"That seems to be in order."

"And there's something else, too," said my grandmother importantly. "This is a letter from Susan Crighton. It's a letter about the You-Know-What in vault You-Know-Which."

The faun read the letter through carefully.

"Very well," she said, handing it back to my grandmother, " I will have someone take you down to the vaults. Grimzhan!"

Grimzhan was yet another faun. Once my grandmother had put all the coins back in her purse ad her purse back inside her coat pocket, we followed Grimzhan towards one of the doors leading off the hall.

"What's the You-Know-What in vault You-Know-which, Grandmother?" I asked her.

"I can't tell you that, Kiara," said my grandmother. "Top secret Dragon Mort business, that is. She was going to send Mina to do this job, but seeing as I was going with you to get your school things she said that I could get the object for her."

Grimzhan held the door open for us. I had expected more enchanted-forest type elements to follow like in the main hall, but I was mistaken again, for as we went through the door, there were two long, narrow walls with a narrow walkway in the middle of them; on one side, there were flaming torches and on the other there was a wall with stone-curved archways. These, I already figured led to the vaults here.

"Right this way," said Grimzhan, taking one of the torches from the torch wall and leading on. Me and my grandmother followed her and I clutched her hand tightly because I was a little scared because it was very eerie and we could hear nothing except the crackling of flames, the gentle _drip, drip, drip_ somewhere and the sound of our footsteps moving in the dark, and creepy passage.

After walking what seemed like an hour – well, to me at least anyway – we stopped in front of one of the archways. Grimzhan rubbed her hand around the archway and it instantly changed into a door. "No human can do this," said Grimzhan to us. "If they did, they'd be sucked in through here never to get out again."

"How long to check to see if anyone's trapped inside?" I asked her.

"Oh, once every ten years," she replied with a wicked smile. "Come on, right this way." And the three of us stepped through together.

When we had reached the other side, I saw another walkway lit with torches, but I looked the other way and saw a massive drop on the other side and I couldn't see the bottom. It looked like a labyrinth of tunnels and walkways, the way they all criss-crossed and overlaid each other. I clutched my grandmother's hand more securely and we kept going. After a while we reached what I considered as the entrance to my vault, with security trolls guarding it.

"Here we are , Kiara," Grandmother said, "the entrance to your vault."

"Why are there security trolls guarding it, Grandmother?" I asked her.

"Oh yes, I forgot to mention that," she said. "Our family is very respected in the wizarding world."

"Really?"

"Yes, my child, really."

"Key, please," said Grimzhan to my grandmother, holding out her hand. My grandmother passed over the key to the vault to Grimzhan, who took it and unlocked the door. I gasped as the door slowly opened and I looked inside. Columns of gold, silver and bronze were glittering inside.

"All yours," smiled my grandmother.

All mine – I couldn't believe it! It was incredible. All this time the Smiths had been complaining about how much I was worth to keep and there was a secret fortune hidden in an underground vault in Southport.

My grandmother helped me to get some in a small leather-bound bag.

"The gold ones are called Galleons," my grandmother explained to me. "Seventeen silver Sickles to a Galleon and twenty-nine Knuts to a Sickle, it's easy enough to understand. Right, that should be enough for a couple of terms, and we'll keep the rest safe." My grandmother turned to Grimzhan. "Right, now to vault You-Know-what in vault You-Know-Which, please." Grimzhan nodded, walked out of the vault and me and my grandmother followed her.

We were heading deeper and deeper through the vaults now and I could feel it getting cold. I started to shiver violently and my grandmother put my coat on over me and held me close. I looked up, longing to see something above, but I saw nothing except a tiny speck of light which I knew was the hall.

The vault which we stopped at had no keyhole or no door. It was just a wall.

"Stand back," Grimzhan said. She rubbed her hand around the wall like before, so that a glow appeared in the shape of an archway. She then laid her hand on the middle of the cave wall and the rock started to – there's no other word for it – dissolve!

I felt sure that something important had to be in this vault – possibly very rare jewels to say the least, but I was once again mistaken. For at first I thought it was empty, and then I spotted a little rectangular object like on the floor, covered with a piece of grubby brown paper. I longed to know what was inside it, but knew better than to ask.

"Right, we can leave here now," said my grandmother to me. "Come, Kiara, I long for fresh air so much after this.

Once we were out of the labyrinth of creepy dark tunnels and into the bright sunlight, I didn't know where to begin now that I had a big bagful of money. I had plenty of money before now, don't get me wrong, but never this much – I think that I probably had more than Carol ever had in her entire life!

"Right, well I think we'd better start off with you getting you uniform first before we go any further," said my grandmother to me, pointing to _Sir Waldin's Robes for All Occasions_. "Listen sweetheart, I'm feeling a little chilly still after those cold tunnels. Do you mind getting your robes yourself whilst I go and get myself a pick-me-up?" She still looked a little pale, so when we got back to the Witching Service, she pointed me to a door which led to the wand shop, as she went to the bar. I took a deep breath and walked right through the door, and into the shop itself.

Sir Waldin was a plump, smiling wizard who was dressed all in cream.

"Dragon Mort too, dear?" he said as I started to speak. "I've got the lot right here – another young woman's being fitted up right now, in fact."

In the back of the shop, a girl with a pale, pointed face was being fitted by a second witch, who was taking the girls measurements. Sir Waldin stood me on a stool next to her and started to take my measurements.

"Hullo," said the girl, "Dragon Mort, too?"

"Yes," I said.

"My mother's looking at wands at the moment and my mother and cousin are buying our school books for the up-coming term," said the girl. She had a bored, drawling voice. "Then, when they come for me here, I'm going to drag them off to look at brooms. Do you have your own broom?" She was starting to remind me strongly of Carol.

"No," I replied to her question.

"Play Quidditch at all?"

"No," I said again, wondering what on earth Quidditch could be.

"_I_ do – Mother says it's a crime if I don't get picked for my house, which I hope I will, for Mother says I'm really good and I want to make her proud of me. Know what house you'll be in yet?"

"No," I said, feeling more stupid by the minute.

"Well, no one really knows until they get there, do they – but I know I'll be in Snake-Eyes, all our family have been – imagine being in Badger-Stripes, I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?"

"Mmm," I said, wishing I'd have something more interesting to say.

"I say, look at that woman!" said the girl suddenly, as the door opened, and my grandmother came in, smiling at me.

"That's my Grandmother Sarabi," I said, glad that for once I knew something that the girl next to me didn't. "She's with me."

"Oh," said the girl, "why is she with you? Where are your parents?"

"I don't know," I said sadly. "No one will tell me where they are."

"Oh, I'm sorry," said the girl, not sounding sorry at all. "But they are _our_ kind, weren't they?"

"They were a witch and wizard, if that's what you mean."

"I don't think they should let the other sort in, do you? I mean, they're different to us and they don't know our ways. They're not the _same_ as us, you know? Some of them have never even heard of Dragon Mort until they get the letter. Imagine that. personally, I think that they should just keep it in the old families. And what's your name, anyway?"

But before I could answer, Sir Waldin came up to me and said, "That's you done, my dear," and as soon as he said that, I jumped down off the stool, not sorry to have an excuse not to talk to the girl a minute longer.

"Well, I'll see you at Dragon Mort, I suppose," said the drawling girl.

My grandmother had heard everything and was watching the girl suspiciously, as I walked towards her, and I don't know who was more relieved out of the pair of us to leave the girl. We went through another door, and we walked into an ice-cream parlour, with a spot outside, in more artificial sunlight. I was quiet as I ate my ice-cream with my grandmother which she had just bought me (chocolate and raspberry with chopped nuts).

"Kiara, what's wrong?" asked my grandmother.

"Nothing," I lied.

"Kiara, you can tell me anything, you know that," my grandmother said, gazing at me with a piercing look. "Now tell me what's wrong."

I sighed, looked at my grandmother and said, "Grandmother, you told me about the school, but you never told me about Snake-Eyes and Badger-Stripes … What exactly are they ?"

My grandmother gasped, and said, "Good heavens, child, I forgot about that. Well, they are two of the four houses, which are Lion-Heart, Badger-Stripes, Raven-Wings and Snake-Eyes. Everyone says Badger-Stripes are a bunch of duffers, but – "

"I bet I'm in Badger-Stripes," I said sadly.

"Better Badger-Stripes than Snake-Eyes," said my grandmother darkly. "There's not been a witch or wizard to this day that hasn't gone bad who hasn't been in Snake-Eyes."

I nodded, and then asked her, "And what's Quidditch?"

"Have I never told you about Quidditch, my dear?"

"No, Grandmother, you have not."

"Well, it's our sport played on broomsticks up in the air with four balls – it's a little hard to explain the rules. But it's basically like football for wizards – everyone follows it, even I do. Anyway, what's brought this up?"

"Well," I said, "I was talking to this girl in Sir Waldin's robe shop …"

And I told her all about the girl in the robe shop, and I was very close to crying by the end. My grandmother could tell, so she pulled me close and stroked my hair.

"Now, don't you fret, my child," she said gently. "If she'd known who you were – ooh, she would have changed her tune, that's for sure. Look, don't you mind her – besides, you saw how they all treated you back in the Witching Service. Look, when you get to Dragon Mort, you'll make lots of new friends and they will – in a way – being something like family to you. You'll see. Besides, I heard most of it, too, and I know it wasn't nice to hear, but you have to take these things on the chin and learn to deal with it."

"How do you know?" I asked her, ignoring the end of what she said. She pushed me away from her gently and pushed my head up. She looked at me confusedly for a few moments, wondering what I was going on about, and then, when she realised that I was talking about Dragon Mort, her confused expression was quickly replaced with one of comfort.

"I know this already," she said, "because some of my best friends were at Dragon Mort. Your Grandfather Mufasa – your father's father, who I miss dearly – and Sarafina also, and others …"

"What happened to the others, Grandmother?" I asked her.

She took a deep breath to steady herself, and said, "They were killed, Kiara, by a dark witch and wizard."

"Oh," was all I said, and then we didn't speak about anything else for a while as we ate our ice-creams in peace.

When we had done eating, we went back to the Witching Service and straight through another door to buy my school books in a place called Flourish and Blotts where they sold books as large as paving stones bound in leather; books the size of postage stamps covered in silk; books covered with peculiar symbols and books that had nothing written in them at all. There was one book though that really caught my attention which my grandmother almost had to drag me away from, which was _Curses and Counter-Curses (Bewitch your Friends and Befuddle your Enemies with the latest Revenges: Hair-Loss, Jelly-Legs, Tongue-Tying and much, much more)_ by Professor Vindictus Viridian.

"I was trying to find out how to curse Carol."

"I'm not saying that that isn't a good idea, but I'm afraid you're not to use magic in the Muggle world except in very special circumstances," my grandmother said. "And anyway, you couldn't work any of them curses yet, you need a lot of studying before you get to that level."

She wouldn't let me buy a solid gold cauldron, either ("It says pewter on your list"), but we did get me a nice set of scales for weighing potion ingredients and a collapsible brass telescope. Then we visited the apothecary's, which was interesting enough to make up for its horrible smell, a mixture of bad eggs and rotted cabbages. Barrels of slimy stuff stood on the floor, jars of herbs, dried herbs and bright powders lined the walls, bundles of feathers, strings of fangs and snarled claws hung from the ceiling. Whilst my grandmother was busy asking the woman behind the counter for a supply of basic potion ingredients for me, I examined silver unicorn horns at twenty-one Galleons each and minuscule, glittering black beetle eyes (five Knuts a scoop).

Outside the apothecary's, I checked my list again.

"Grandmother, I still need a wand," I said to her.

"A wand, you say? Oh, you'll want Madam Wandwick's, there's no place better. You go in there and wait … I just need to pop off somewhere, I won't be long," my grandmother said to me. We walked together to the Witching Service, where my Grandmother went one way, and I went through another door. Before I went through it, I saw peeling gold letters over the door read_ Wandwick: Makers of Fine Wands Since 382 BC. _ A single wand lay on a faded purple cushion in the dusty window.

A magic wand … this was what I had been really looking forward to.

A tinkling bell rang somewhere in the depths of the shop as I stepped inside. It was a tiny place, except for a spindly chair. I felt strangely as though I had just entered a very strict library; as I came up to the counter I looked up at the thousands of narrow boxes piled neatly right up to the ceiling. For some reason, the back of my neck prickled. The very dust and silence in there seemed to tingle with some secret magic.

"Hello?" I said, rather quietly, and then again a little louder, "Hello?"

I heard a ladder to the left bang into one of the pillars of wands, which didn't collapse; the bang though made me jump and I looked up. I knew that this was Madam Wandwick. She was an old woman, with large eyes the colour of moonstones and black hair tied up neatly in a bun on top of her head.

"I was wondering when I'd be seeing you, Miss Pride-Lander," said the woman at the top of the ladder as she began to climb down. When she reached the bottom, she went to the right and started to look through the wands that she had. "Seems only yesterday that your mother and father were in here themselves buying their first wands. Ah …" she said, pulling one down off the shelf. She stepped forward and pulled the wand out of its box. "Try this. Give it a wave, now. Don't be shy."

I waved it, but a bunch of boxes came flying down off of the shelves.

"Apparently not," she said to herself as I placed the first wand on the counter. She climbed up the ladder again to get another wand, took it down and gave it to me. "Perhaps this …"

I waved this wand, and a glass vase blew up.

"No! No! Definitely not!" Madam Wandwick yelled. "No matter …" as she said this, she climbed down the ladder and moved toward the back of the store. "I wonder," she whispered, taking another box from the shelf. She moved towards me with the box in her hand, taking off its lid and unfolding the wrappings as she walked. When she got to me she took out the wand and handed it to me. Then, something happened ...

When I took the wand, I felt an incredible warmth spread through me when I held it, and I felt a strange, non-present wind swirl all around me. Then, everything was still once more.

"Yikes," said Madam Wandwick, "Very curious … Very curious, indeed …"

"I'm sorry," I said as I handed the wand back to her, "but what's curious?"

She took the wand from me and said, "I remember every wand I ever sold, Miss Pride-Lander. It appears that the phoenix, whose tail-feather is in your wand gave another feather … just _one_ other. It so happens that you should have this wand when its sister gave you that scar."

I gulped and asked her, "And who owned that wand?"

She gasped and replied, "We do not speak her name. After all, She-You-Know did great things. Terrible, oh yes … but great."

I wasn't sure if I liked her that much after she said that, with those big moonstone eyes gazing into me. I shivered. I paid seven Galleons for my wand and Madam Wandwick curtseyed me from her shop.

When I was out I saw my grandmother in the Witching Service near the bar, smiling at me, and holding an owl in one hand. I ran up to them, a large smile breaking out on my face.

"He's beautiful, grandmother," I said to her. "Thank you so much!"

"You're welcome, sweetheart," she smiled, as I took the owl. "I thought you'd like him. Besides, you need something to keep in touch with me at Dragon Mort, don't you?" Just then, her phone beeped; she took it out, looked at it and then sent a message back, by the look of it. Then she looked at me.

"Was that Grandmother Sarafina texting you?" I asked Grandmother Sirabi.

"Yes, Kiara, it was."

"What did you tell her."

"That we've finished shopping and we're going home," my grandmother said, taking my hand. "Come on then, let's go home."

The Witching service was now empty, except for Dizra. My grandmother spoke to her to see if anyone was in the bathroom. There wasn't,so we said goodbye to her and walked back up the staircase and went back through the wall into the bathroom, went back outside the bathroom, back up Queen Anne's Street, across East Bank Street, down Chapel Street to the car park outside the train station. I was quiet all the way back, even as we got into the car. My grandmother looked at me again with a lot of concern as when we were in the car.

"You all right, Kiara? You seem quiet," she said.

"Everyone thinks I'm special," I said. "All those people in the Witching Service, Professor Quarrel, Madam Wandwick … but I don't know practically anything about magic at all. How can they expect great things from me. I'm famous, and I can't even remember what it is that I'm famous for – I don't even _know_ what it is I'm famous for."

My grandmother looked at me and took my hand to comfort me.

"Don't worry, Kiara. You'll learn fast enough. Everyone starts at the beginning at Dragon Mort, you'll be fine. Just be yourself. I know it's hard, sweetheart. You've been singled out and that's always hard. But you'll have a great time at Dragon Mort, you'll see." We smiled at each other, and then my grandmother started the car and we drove home.

"Everything looks strange here too, after what I've seen today," I said to her.

"I know it does, sweetheart," my grandmother said, "But you'll get used to it soon enough, never fear." We smiled at each other and that was all we said for the rest of the journey to one-another. My grandmother turned on the radio and we got entertainment for that, singing to the good songs we knew on the way back.

I was silent almost all the way home, thinking about everything that had happened today; but most of all, I kept thinking about she-You-Know, who she was and what she had to do with me. My grandmother kept looking at me but didn't say anything. I wanted to ask her about She-you-Know, but I thought it better if she told me at the cottage.

After a few hours, we finally arrived back home. It was dark when we got back, the stars were already out. Grandmother Sarafina was waiting for us at the door. I went to greet her whilst Grandmother Sirabi took my stuff for school out of the boot.

"Hello, my love," Grandmother Sarafina said embracing me. Then she let me go and I looked up at her. "Did you have a good time today?"

"Yeah, it was great," I said bluntly. Then I entered the cottage and sat down on the sofa to watch TV. My grandmothers came in and looked at me.

"You sure you're all right, Kiara?" Grandmother Sarabi asked me. "You never talked in the car on the way home."

"I'm just a little tired and it is late," I sighed, getting up. "I think I'll turn in early for tonight. Goodnight," I said, as I walked passed them.

"'Night, Kiara," my grandmothers said to me as I opened the door to the stairs.

I didn't fall asleep straight away; for a while I just lay there, staring at my ceiling. Then I heard one of my grandmothers coming up the stairs. Then someone knocked on my door. "Kiara, can I come in?" It was Grandmother Sarabi. I said yes; she entered my room, turned on my light, shut my door and sat on the edge of my bed.

"What's wrong, sweetheart?" she asked me.

I sat up and said to her, "Well, you never told me how I came to live you, and why I was separated from my parents and how I got my scar. You know, grandmother. I know you do."

She sighed and looked at me. "Yes, I do know and I understand why you want to know, not only is it important but you can't go to Dragon Mort without knowing about it. Not all witches and wizards are good. Some are really bad. A few years ago, a witch came onto the scene whose name was Z … Z …" she sighed, hesitated and then said, "Her name was Zira." She shuddered.

"Zira?" I asked.

"Yes, Zira."

"Why did you shudder at the name, Grandmother?" I asked her.

"People are terrified, Kiara! Terrified that one day she'll come back! Anyhoo, Zira started to get some followers together and brought them over to the dark side. Some wanted power and some just wanted to have power given to them. Anyone who stood against Zira or her followers ended up dead! No one lived from the curse that killed many innocent people. No one – not one person – except you!"

I gulped and said, "Me?! Zira tried to kill _me_?"

"Yes Kiara. That's not an ordinary cut on your forehead, Kiara. A mark like that only comes from being touched by a curse, and an evil curse at that. Anyway, no one knew of your story until five years after what had happened to you, because of Lord Voldemort. I think Zira wanted to keep herself quiet until Voldemort was gone, or something of the sort. Wanted to work in the dark for a time, so that she could keep the light off herself before she let the world know all about her and her evil, maddening schemes."

"Before you continue, Grandmother, what do you think happened to She-You-Know?"

"Well, some say she died. Codswallop, in my opinion. Me, Mina and a few others think that she's still out there now, too tired to carry on."

"But that still doesn't explain why I was brought here and kept stuck in this village all these years," I told my grandmother.

"Ah, well you see, my child, Crighton took you away from your parents and brought you here to us when you were just a babe in order to keep you safe and protected, because there are some followers of Zira's who are just as mad and just as powerful as Zira is herself. I'm sorry I kept it from you, but I hope your satisfied now. From what I've told you about Zira trying to kill you, that's why your famous. That's why everyone knows your name. You are the girl who lived!"

"I am, Grandmother. Thank you for telling me." She kissed me on the head and then got off my bed.

"Right, I'll see you in the morning," Grandmother Sarabi said, walking toward the door. "Goodnight, Kiara," she said at my door.

"Goodnight, Grandmother Sarabi," I said as she turned off the light and shut my door behind her.

I felt satisfied that I finally had the information about how I was separated from my parents and how I got the scar on my head, and I was happy to know about it, because now I could stop asking questions about it and start moving on. I sat thinking about it for a while, and then my thoughts moved from the She-You-Know to Dragon Mort, and Dragon Mort took place in my dreams that night.

And once again to all, Nighty night!

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**Well, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and some of the twists that I have made to this story. Please R&amp;R, and I will write again soon.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6 **

**The Journey on the Subs from the Docks in Dover**

**Hey guys. K.J.A here again. Thank you all so much for reading. I have to say, this chapter has been a lot of fun for me to write, so I hope you all enjoy it, and get a few laughs out of it while you can. Enjoy this chapter. Thanks.**

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My last month before I started my first term at Dragon Mort was fun, seeing as not only that the Smiths' didn't want anything to do with us, but also there was the fact that I could speak to Grandmother Sarabi about the school and some of the things that I would be learning there. It was great! We talked for hours about the school on end; even Grandmother Sarafina was interested about what it was like at Dragon Mort that she would somehow end up interrupting our conversations, but we didn't mind for we would always laugh about it afterwards. But the thing that really made my grandmothers' smile was the fact that they always saw me happy, happier than I'd ever been in my entire life so far, and if I was happy, then they were happy, too, and I was glad that I could spend that last month feeling happy and laughing a lot and not crying, feeling sad and wallowing in self-pity for the rest of the summer.

When I wasn't talking to my grandmothers about Dragon Mort, I was spending time in my room with not only the television to keep me company, but also my new owl. I decided to call him Harold, just because I felt like it and I liked the name. I loved to read my new schoolbooks because they were very interesting. When my grandmothers had thought I'd gone to sleep, I took out a torch kept hidden secretly in my drawer, hid under the covers with torch in my hand and kept reading until I felt tired enough to fall asleep; and whilst I read, Harold came and went as he pleased through my bedroom window. Every night before I went to sleep, I would clear up his droppings, put them in the bin and ticked off another day on a piece of paper that I had pinned to the wall, counting down the days to September the first.

On the last day of August, I went downstairs to ask my grandmothers how I was going to get to the Dover docks the next day to travel to Dragon Mort. I found them both in the lounge watching something on television. When I entered the room, Grandmother Sarabi switched the mute button on the television and both of my grandmothers turned to face me.

"Er – Grandmother Sarabi?"

"Yes, Kiara?"

"Will you be driving me to Dover tomorrow to go to Dragon Mort?"

"Yes, I will, and I'm glad you mentioned it actually," Grandmother Sarabi said, leaning forward. "The submarines leave at eleven o'clock, if I remember rightly, don't they?"

"Yes, Grandmother," I said.

"Right. Well, we'll have to leave extra early tomorrow if we're going to make it on time."

"What time will we leave tomorrow, Grandmother Sarabi?" I asked her.

"Well, in order to make it on time, I say we'll have to leave at five on the dot tomorrow morning, so make sure that you're up at half past four tomorrow."

"I'll set my alarm tonight for the time you mentioned on my clock, Grandmother Sarabi."

"Good. Oh, Sarafina," Grandmother Sarabi said, turning to her, "you don't have to come with us, you know."

"Oh, but I want to. After all, I want to be there to say goodbye to my favourite granddaughter before I see her again for who knows how long."

"Very well," Grandmother Sarabi said to her. I was about to leave for my room when Grandmother Sarabi called me back. "Oh, Kiara. One moment, if you please."

I walked back to her. "What is it, Grandmother Sarabi?" I asked her.

"Make sure you have your trunk packed for tomorrow before you go to bed tonight, dear. We won't have that much time in the morning before we leave to sort everything out, you know."

"I will, Grandmother Sarabi, I promise. May I be excused now?"

"Of course, Kiara."

I ran upstairs to my room and read my books more. Before I went to bed that night, I cleaned up Harold's droppings, made sure that Harold was safely shut in his cage and gave him some owl treats, packed my trunk and took the sheet down off the wall, counting the days down to September the first. I was nervous and excited for the day ahead because I couldn't believe that I was finally going to Dragon Mort! And with that thought in mind, I finally drifted off to sleep.

That night, I had a strange dream: I remember vaguely that I was in a meadow, not like the meadow I was with my father, but a different one. There was a stream by it and a big oak tree, its branches swaying magically. Three children around my age – two girls and a boy – jumped off its branches, did a couple of somersaults and landed by the stream. But the tallest girl landed nearer to the stream than the other two. Then someone must have called, because they ran off; one of the girls and the boy were racing each other, but the tallest girl stopped and looked at me. I couldn't see her face, but I could see her smile. Just. Then she turned her head and ran off, the darkness covering her. And when she had vanished the darkness swirled all around me and I fell through the darkness and woke up. I remember now that I have had dreams about that girl before that night after my birthday, and I felt sure at the time that they were telling me something. And they were; for if I knew who that girl was and how big a part of my life she was going to become, I - but I'm getting ahead of myself here. We'll get to that.

Anyhoo, I sat up in bed and wondered who those three kids were. And I thought about this as I fell slowly back to sleep.

My alarm rang at half past four the next morning, so I quickly switched it off and jumped right out of bed and got some Muggle clothes. I also made sure that I had some Muggle clothes packed for Dragon Mort – I didn't want to be wearing my uniform all the time that I was there – and after I did that I got my wash bag off of my bedside table and went to take a shower. When I closed my bedroom door, I could smell the breakfast already cooking, so I went to the bathroom to take a quick shower.

After my shower, I went back to my room and changed into jeans and a plain t-shirt because I didn't want to go to the docks wearing my uniform – I'd change into those in whichever submarine I was in. I sorted out my hair, put my wash bag and brushes in my trunk and then I took my owl in his cage and my trunk downstairs.

I saw that breakfast was already on the table and that my grandmothers were both tucking in when I entered the kitchen that morning. They both looked up as I entered. "Ah good girl, Kiara. You're packed and ready to go. Put your trunk and Harold out in the hall and then come and join us for breakfast. What would you like?"

"Just toast and jam please, Grandmother Sarabi. I'm feeling a little nervous to each much this morning," I told her as I walked into the hall.

"Ah, the start-of-first-term-nerves," I heard Grandmother Sarabi sigh as I placed Harold and my trunk in the hall. She continued as I re-entered the room and put my breakfast in front of my seat: "I remember them. I had them when I was starting at Dragon Mort, too."

"Why, what were yours like, Sarabi?" asked Grandmother Sarafina.

"Oh, I was shaking so much that I threw up twice! It was horrible!"

"I bet it was, Sarabi. I bet it was!"

Whilst my grandmothers were talking, I meanwhile was trying to eat my breakfast; which I couldn't eat properly because to me it tasted like carpet. I was glad when breakfast ended ten minutes later. I went over to Crooks who was lying on the sofa, but jumped up when he saw me and came to my hand when I was next to him. (I didn't have the heart to tell them about the dream because I was nervous.)

"I'm going to miss you, my little buddy," I said to him as I gently stroked his fur. "I'll see you soon … and when I get back I hope that you'll still keep me laughing," I said, chuckling as I stopped stroking him. But I wasn't the only one who was chuckling, for I turned round and my grandmothers were doing the same.

"Come, Kiara," said Grandmother Sarabi, putting one arm around my shoulders, "it's time to go." And with that, we went into the hall. Grandmother Sarabi pulled a trolley for my trunk out of the closet. "Where we're going, Kiara, they don't have trolleys for trunks," said Grandmother Sarafina. We put our coats on and as I opened the front door and went to wait outside by the car, Grandmother Sarabi grabbed my trunk and placed it on the trolley and Grandmother Sarafina grabbed the cage, brought them to the car and placed them in the boot when the car doors had been opened. Then Grandmother Sarabi got in the driver's seat, Grandmother Sarafina took the passenger seat in the front next to her and I got in the back. When the car doors were shut, Grandmother Sarabi started the engine, turned on the radio, said "Here we go, then", and we were off.

It took us five and a half hours to reach the docks in Dover, and when we got there, I looked around me and I saw many boats and beyond these I saw the ocean beyond. It was a beautiful sight, with the boats swaying on the ocean water, and the water itself glittering in the sun. Before I could behold anything else, I felt Grandmother Sarabi's hand on my shoulder. I turned round and looked at her. "Come, Kiara, follow me. Quickly!" she put her hand in mine and dragged me after her, a little away from the docks, to a street somewhere near to them, where there was nearly no one in sight. I ran a little forward to keep up with her and said, "What about Harold and my trunk, Grandmother? And why have we come here to this street, for I thought that we would be getting there at the actual docks, and not somewhere near to them."

"Sarafina's bringing them now. And as to why we have come to this street, it is because we have to be close enough to the sea, and yet not too close for the Muggles to see what we're up to. " And as Grandmother Sarabi said that, Grandmother Sarafina came round pushing my trunk in the trolley with Harold in his cage on top. She gave the trunk to Grandmother Sarabi and then we walked on. We came to a halt near the road, where there was a gutter beneath us, and we stopped. I looked at Grandmother Sarabi confusedly.

"Why have we stopped here, Grandmother Sarabi?" I asked her

"Because Kiara, the way to get to the submarines is through this gutter," she said to me. "Now then, all we have to do is walk through this gutter holding hands together, where we will be transported to the Sub House. Now, look down. Can you see a magical, blue light surrounding the gutter?" I looked down, and I did. I looked back up at Grandmother Sarabi and nodded vigorously. She nodded back once curtly and said, "Good. Sarafina can't because she is a Muggle, but don't worry," she said at the worried look on my face, "she'll be able to come with us."

I nodded in understanding, and Grandmother Sarabi nodded and said, "All right, then. Hold tight, Kiara," she said to me, as she held the top of Harold's cage on top of my trunk, held one of my hands as she gave my trunk back to Grandmother Sarafina, who took hold of my other hand, as Grandmother Sarabi picked up Harold's cage off the floor, where she had placed it before she had passed my trunk over to Grandmother Sarafina. She looked at me as if to say "Are you ready?" which I nodded once to. She nodded twice and then we walked over the gutter, and slipped right through it in a matter of seconds; and instead of landing in the sewers (which I am immensely glad that we didn't), we were on a magical waterslide, which quickly rushed us along swirling and turning hither and thither. I was quickly becoming dizzy, so I shut my eyes, and after it felt like we had stopped, I opened them and beheld a rather wondrous sight.

We were now in a long, aqua-marine blue panelled room, which looked like water was actually in the room. Another magical illusion, I know! Anyhoo, I looked up, and there were several large, aqua-marine oval shapes attached to cables, which I guessed were the submarines; and as I looked further, I saw that there was an area that was blocked off, just beyond where all the people were, which I correctly guessed was where the submarines were going to be dropped into the water. I saw a sign hanging above my head saying _Submarine Express to Dragon Mort_; and when I saw that, I knew I had done it.

My grandmothers and I stood back a few paces, so as not to block the entrance to the Sub House. As I looked around, I saw crowds of chattering students, some talking to friends, others having a few last-minute words with their families. I saw a round-faced girl who was saying, "Granddad, I've lost my toad again."

"Oh, _Nikita_," I heard the old man sigh.

I looked round at all the students talking and I saw a crowd forming round a girl who had something in a box, and the crowd were persuading her to let them have a look at whatever was inside it. She opened it up, and everyone surrounding it immediately stood back, for a long, hairy leg had just poked out of it.

As I finished watching that, I turned back towards the wall again; it was then that I saw them … the three people who would become very important to me in time and would change my life in more ways than one.

Three people – two girls and a boy – had just walked through the wall with their backs to me; the girls had long hair – the first girl was dark brown, almost black it was that dark, the second girl had an oakish-darkening to her brown hair – and the boy had light brown hair which was wavy to his shoulders. I figured they were arguing about something, for this was part of what they said:

"Argh, where's Dad?" asked the second girl.

"He'll be here soon, sister, don't worry," said the first girl reassuringly.

"Well I hope he hurries up," said the second girl.

"Yeah, me too," said the boy eagerly. "The sooner he gets here, the sooner we can hurry up and go."

The first girl sighed and said, "Would you two _please_ try and have a _little_ patience."

"That's rich coming from you, sister."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"'Cos you haven't got any patience to spare. Ha! Ha!"

The first girl sighed again and didn't talk to any of them, and it was her I kept looking at, for you see, she had waist-length hair and at the bottom, her hair curled inwardly at the bottom. I had seen only one other person who had royal curls, and I thought that that girl must have been –

" – Professor Crighton!" I yelled, finishing my train of thought out loud.

But when she turned around, I could feel my face heat up, for it wasn't Professor Crighton; and when I came to think about it, I was a fool to think that that girl was Professor Crighton, for even though she was tall in her way, she was a little shorter than Crighton herself. But that does not mean that she wasn't beautiful; she had a long face, beautiful hair, a petite nose and eyes that weren't exactly blue or green or grey, but all three colours were mixed together, but the grey made me think of ice forming over a blue/green ocean. And it was because of those eyes that I expected her to be angry by what I had just called her; however, I was once again mistaken, for she smiled, grabbed her trunk and walked over to us.

"Sorry," she said when she was close enough for us to hear, "I'm afraid that you're mistaken with my mother, Susan Crighton."

"_You're_ her daughter!?" I asked her.

"Well, I'm one of her daughters – well, children actually. There are eleven of us in the family; five girls, six boys; eight siblings born from my mother's womb, one adopted brother and two foster brothers ."

"Wow! So, who are you then?" I asked her.

She gasped and then checked herself and said, "Oh, forgive my rudeness. I'm Sian Dawson, eldest of the Dawson Clan as everyone calls us. And you … Oh my God! You're Kiara Pride-Lander, aren't you?" she asked after checking the scar on my forehead.

"Yes, I am," I told her.

"Well, my dear, it's a pleasure to finally meet you!" then she stared at me confusedly. "Have I seen you before? Like, in a dream or …"

I gasped and said, "Yes, we have! I had a dream that I saw a tall girl smiling at me last night just after she and her siblings had jumped off a tree and somersaulted through the air! That tall girl smiled at me and ran off afterwards! Was that –?"

"Yes, that _was_ me!" Sian said delightedly. "And I –"

"Wait a second; _you're_ the eldest Dawson girl?" Grandmother Sarabi asked her.

"Yes, I just said that."

"Well, my dear, I've heard an awful lot about you!"

Sian sighed and said, "Yet _another _person my mother has told."

Grandmother Sarabi chuckled and said, "It must be very difficult for you having so many people talking about you, I know, but the things that you have done for the world at just a young age … Well, they are impressive and _astounding_!"

She smiled in spite of herself and said, "Thank you, ma'am. And you two are Sirabi and Sarafina, aren't you? Kiara's grandmothers? If I am allowed to call you by your first names of course?"

"Of course you can, dear," said Grandmother Sarabi. "And I'm so thrilled that I have finally met you. I mean, I've heard a lot about you and your family. Very famous, very famous. It feels like an honour and a privilege to finally meet you at last. And you look so much like your mother, it's incredible! No wonder Kiara mistook you for her!"

Sian chuckled and said, "Yes, well, the resemblance between us is uncanny. It's just unfortunate that I have some of my father's facial features. Oh, don't worry!" she said quickly, seeing the looks on our faces, "He's an attractive man and he already knows this, so it's really no big deal."

We all laughed at this, and then Grandmother Sarafina spoke up for the first time since meeting Sian and her family, "Who are those two behind you, Sian? The ones who you were arguing with before?"

"Oh, those two," said Sian, looking over her shoulder, where the second girl and the boy were still stood, minding their own business. Then she turned back to us. "One moment, please!" then she turned back to the second girl and the boy, and shouted to them, "Oi! Ninny one and ninny two! Get over here!"

They both turned round and when Sian beckoned them to come, they picked up their trunks and came over to us.

"Er – ninny one and ninny two?" I said to her as she turned back to us. "That's a little rude, don't you think?"

"Well, a little," she said, "but the thing about me is, I don't really care who I stand up to. Besides, I'm like this around my family all the time, just ask them and you'll see."

When I had a first look at them, I was quite surprised to see that the second girl didn't look anything like Sian, for she was covered with freckles and a few spots on her face. She had waist-length hair and a petite nose, but she also had blue-grey eyes so she was a little bit ugly. As for the boy, he had a cute baby-face and dimples, light-brown hair – like I've already said – a long nose and forest-green eyes. They were both tall, but not as tall as Sian was.

"Are these your siblings, Sian?" Grandmother Sarabi asked her.

"Yes, they are. This," she said, pointing to the second girl, "is my twin sister, Christina Dawson – though you'd never think she was my twin sister, the way she looks, and don't even try to deny it, sister, everyone including you knows what I say is true."

"Yeah, I know," she sighed, with her head down.

Sian sighed and turned back to us. "Anyhoo, you can call her Chrissie. Everyone else does."

"Hi," said Chrissie to me.

"Hi," I said back.

"And this," Sian said pointing to the boy, "is our adopted brother, Christopher James Rickers. You can call him Chris – like everyone else – and I will keep calling him Rickers, because I can and I want to."

"Hi," he said to me.

"Hi," I said back.

"And this," Sian said to Chris and Chrissie, pointing at me, "is Kiara Pride-Lander, the girl who lived herself."

"Wow, are you really?" Chrissie asked me.

"Yeah, I really am," I replied.

"Wow that's great. Can you show us the scar please?"

"Chrissie!" Sian gasped, shocked. "You don't ask questions like that to people!"

"It's all right, Sian," I said to her. Then I turned to the other two. "Look," I said to them, pushing aside my fringes so that they both could see.

"Wicked!" Chris and Chrissie said in unison. I shook hands with Sian, Chris and Chrissie after that. Sian and Chrissie were fine, but with Chris … well, something weird occurred …

When we touched, a spark of electricity went flooding through both of us, like we had connected in some way. All sorts of strange things happened: we saw colours of the brightest kind, along with visions of memories that were hazy from each other's minds. It was something I had never felt before, but it was a good sensation. I liked it, and I was quite disappointed when we let go of each other.

"Woah, that was weird," I said to him.

"You can say that again."

"Why, what happened you two?" asked Sian.

"Do you really want to know?" I asked her.

"Oh, I always like to make new discoveries," she said. "Now, tell me."

"Well," I said, "when me and your brother touched, it felt like a spark of electricity had passed between us, and we saw bright colours merging together, and our memories, which were hazy."

"Fascinating," said Sian.

"Why is it fascinating?"

"Well, legend has it that when two people who have never seen each other in their lives meet for the first time and touch each other for the first time during that meeting, a sort of connection – a bond, if you will – is made between those two people."

"Really?" Chris asked.

"Yes, dear brother, really. Legend also tells us that the bond created will last between those two people until the day they die, that they can hear each others' thoughts – in a way – and that those two people might one day become a couple."

"Wow!" I said. "I didn't know that!"

"Nor me, and I've been in the wizarding world longer than you," said Grandmother Sarabi.

"Yeah, well, that's what you get when you're as close to a mother as I am to mine," said Sian, which we all nodded to.

Suddenly, a voice behind Sian, Chris and Chrissie called "Kids! Come here please! I'd like to speak with you before you go!"

"Actually Dad," called Sian to him without turning round, "can you come over here, please? There's someone who we want you to meet."

"All right," he said, and he came over to where we stood. "All right, Siany," he said to her, "who is it that you want me to say hello to?"

"Oh, just Kiara Pride-Lander, Dad," said Sian, nodding at me.

The man looked at me and I looked at him. He had curly brown hair which was growing grey and blue-grey eyes – like Chrissie's. He was also tall with a little weight around the middle and he had a goatee and I was more surprised to see that even though he was a grown man and a parent, he had a childlike smile about him. This I assumed was Mr Dawson; he looked at me at first with wonder and then surprise.

"So, it's true, then? You really are Kiara Pride-Lander?"

"Yes, sir, I am," I said to him.

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you at last," he said, and we shook hands.

"Looking forward to school?" he asked me.

"Yes sir, I am."

"Well, that's good. I'm sure you'll like it at Dragon Mort very much. My Siany here has driven her other siblings mad because she hasn't been able to shut her mouth about it for the past couple of weeks now."

"I can't help it, Dad. I'm just really excited to go," said Sian.

"I know you are … Anyhoo Kiara, my wife said to Sian a few days ago that you will be good to her in some way, and for my wife's sake I hope she's right."

"Oh, I highly doubt that Ma's right about that, Dad. After all, I've been this way for many a year now and no one has changed me; after all, you and Ma have both tried to change me for years now, and did you succeed? No, you did not. So why should I change now for some girl whom I have just met?"

Mr Dawson sighed, and before he or any of us could say another word, the ceiling opened and a voice overhead said, "The Dragon Mort submarines will be leaving in five minutes, so please say goodbye to your children now. Thank you!"

Mr Dawson pulled his children close to him. He hugged Chris, and Chrissie and Sian also, but he kissed his two girls instead, and then he said to them, "Right you two," he said to Chris and Chrissie, "you be good and listen to your eldest sister here, all right?"

"Yes Dad," Chris and Chrissie sighed simultaneously.

"Good. And Sian, look after them, will you?"

"Don't worry, Dad. You know as well as I do that you can always count on me."

"That's my girl," said Mr Dawson proudly to Sian. Then he hugged and kissed his children one last time and let them go. Then he went into the crowd. Then they turned to us and I was surprised to see that Sian was groaning.

"Why are you groaning, Sian?" I asked her.

"I'm groaning, Kiara, because I hate being emotional and also emotionally vulnerable in front of other people. That's why I'm groaning."

"Oh," was all I said, and then I turned to my grandmothers.

"I'm going to miss you, Kiara," Grandmother Sarafina said to me.

"I'll miss you too, Grandmother Sarafina," I said to her as we embraced.

"Remember, you can write to us any time, all right?" she said into my hair.

"I will, I promise both of you that," I said as we let go and I turned to Grandmother Sarabi.

"Oh, Kiara, be good, try to stay out of trouble and enjoy the experience," she said as we embraced.

"But what if I want to stay over Christmas?" I asked her. "Will you mind?"

When we let go, Grandmother Sarabi replied, "Not at all, love. It's your decision. We'll miss you, but we can wait 'til next summer comes along."

"But who am I going to sit with?" I said looking round.

"Oh, you can sit with us," said Sian, pointing to herself, Chris and Chrissie. "We have our own sub, you know. And besides, our family has always been known to help out those in need whenever we can."

"Thanks," I said.

"Ah, no big," said Sian, with a wave of her hand.

Before any of us could say another word, a loud, shrill whistle rang through the room. "Time to go," said Sian, as I quickly hugged my grandmothers again and went with Chris, Sian and Chrissie to the stairs to the subs. We passed our tickets to the guard beside the stairs and then we went up them. "This way, Kiara, this way!" said Sian, leading the way in front to a final sub at the end of the line, which door was at the side. The four of us stood in a line, and when all the students were in lines outside their subs, the doors opened up and we hurried inside.

Inside the sub, it was aqua-marine blue and very spacious. There were seats beside both windows with tables in between and seatbelts beside the seats, with a narrow passage in between so that we could walk. It was also complete with bathrooms and changing rooms. And just like the walls in the sub room, it looked like waves were actually crashing on the inside of the sub. There were doors leading to other seats in the sub and at the end opposite the door, there were four slots where we could place our trunks, so we each picked a slot, placed our trunks in them and then Sian, Chris and Chrissie sat down. I was wondering where to sit when Chris spoke to me.

"Kiara, sit here," said Chris to me, for Chrissie was sat next to Sian; so I sat down next to him and looked out of the window. I saw my grandmothers and waved to them. Then Sian patted my hand and I looked at her.

"What is it, Sian?" I asked her.

"You should buckle up now," she said. I thought she was joking, but when I saw the anxious look on her face, I knew she was telling the truth, so I buckled up.

I didn't know what was going to happen, but then the sub started moving forwards rather slowly, and you could hear the clicks on the metal, as the chain moved the submarine along. It was like gong forwards on a roller-coaster. When we reached the very top, we stopped. I looked down, and I could see that we were being suspended over the dropping points, where the submarines were going to be dropped at any second; and I was right, for the dropping points were beginning to open slowly, and I could see the water sloshing about lazily below us.

The next thing I knew, alarms went off loudly three times, before one by one, the submarines were dropped, and we were falling through the air. Chris, Sian, Chrissie and I were screaming our lungs out. Suddenly, my mind went blank of all that I knew; I didn't know who I was, what I was doing there, where I was going – all of that information was gone from my mind and more, until suddenly –

Splash down! We collided with the water and then we propelled off. So this was it. I was finally on my way to Dragon Mort!

"It's all right now, Kiara!" said Sian to me. "You can take your seat belt off now!"

"Oh, thank goodness!" I cried, unbuckling it. Then we all fell back in a relaxed fashion. "So," I said to Sian, "it must be pretty cool having your mother as the headmistress of Dragon Mort?"

"Well, I suppose it is. I mean, we do have a lot of privileges with her, but she tries not to give us too many."

"What kinds of privileges do you get then?" I asked.

"Well, we get to go out with her some weekends," said Sian. "We get to go into town with her and go to see her sister who works not that far from Dragon Mort."

"Plus, we get sweets from her for Christmas and birthdays … massive gift baskets of sweets, I mean," said Chris.

"Yeah, and she also buys us really nice jewellery, if she can afford it, that is," said Chrissie.

"So all-in-all, it's not a bad deal," said Sian. She sighed happily, and we sat in silence for a few minutes. I looked at Sian though, wondering what she looked so happy about. Then she jerked out of it and said, "So, you've lived with your grandmothers, Kiara?"

"Yes, I've been living with them since I can remember."

"They love you very much, I can tell."

"Yes, they do."

"Where do you live with them? Is it nice there? Is it good living with them?"

"Well, it is nice living with them most of the time," I said. "I live with my grandmothers in a cottage somewhere in Wales. It's a beautiful place, for my bedroom window overlooks the back garden and the valley beyond that. It is really something to behold when the sun shines over it. My grandmothers let me paint my bedroom however I wanted, so I decorated it the way I wanted to, so now it looks bright and colourful. I got almost anything that I wanted off of them. I love it there!"

"Yes, I can tell," said Sian. "But you also said that you were happy with them "most of the time". What do you mean by that exactly?"

"What I mean by that is the fact that my grandmothers won't mention my parents' names to me. They say that they did something terrible and that I'll find out what they did when I'm older. It's almost like they're ashamed of them, even though they say that they were great people. It just doesn't make sense. And then there's my mother's sister and her husband and child, for they were always mean to me, even though I couldn't help performing magic when I was angry or scared."

"Oh you poor thing!" said Sian. "Well, don't you fret, my dear. You're away from all that now and you'll make friends at Dragon Mort, I'm sure of it." She gave me a reassuring smile and I gave her a smile in return.

"I bet it must be exciting living with that many people at home."

"In a way it is," said Chrissie. "Sian, Chris and I are the first three to go to Dragon Mort. Beth and Kestrel are next and then the rest. What house do you hope to be put in when you get there, Kiara?"

"I don't know. What house do you think you'll go into?"

"Well, us three all hope that we go into Lion-Heart, just like Ma," said Chris. He then pulled out a rat from inside his coat, and as he did that, Chrissie went over to her trunk and opened a small cage which contained a black and white cat and took the cat out. "This is Claws," said Chris, holding up the rat. "He's pretty much pathetic because all he ever does is sleep, but I like him and our parents brought Chrissie a cat a few years back. They were both in the same shop and they were lying next to each other, which was weird and yet slightly cute."

As he was talking, Chrissie's cat – whose name was Felix, even though it was a girl – jumped onto my lap and I stroked it. She lay in my lap and it was purring away.

"She likes me," I said.

"She does?" Chris, Sian and Chrissie asked in surprise.

"Yes, she does. I've always had a sort of connection with any cats in the cat family. They speak to me in a way. She likes how I stroke her and she wants me to carry on stroking her."

"Fascinating," said Sian. "I've heard that people can talk to snakes, but never cats. That's amazing."

I chuckled, and said, "Chrissie?"

"Yeah?"

"Your cat here says that she'd appreciate it if you'd stop over-feeding her. She'd like to keep a healthy diet and she doesn't want to go fat just yet."

"When does she want to go fat then?"

"She says in about five years."

"All right, then."

"You excited about Dragon Mort, Kiara?" Sian asked me then.

"Yeah, I am. But I bet," I said, voicing something that had been muttering a lot lately, "I bet I'm worst in the class."

"You won't be, Kiara. There are loads of people at the school who don't know a thing about magic when they start and they learn quick enough, you'll see."

For a time after that, we were all quiet. We looked out of the windows and we saw seaweed, kelp and many strange fish fly past under the sea.

Around half past twelve, a table rose out of nowhere in the middle of the floor covered in sweets. I hadn't had anything since carpet-flavoured toast, so I leapt up and went to see. Before I took anything, a voice on the intercom said:

"If you are buying anything, we will tell you how much you have to pay, so make sure you have enough money on you. Thank you!"

I had got money for sweets before, but I never had as much as I had jangling around in my pocket. I wanted to buy Kit Kats. But they didn't have those. What they did have was All-Flavour Beans, Big-Bubble Blowing Gum, Multi-Flavoured Fruit-Frogs, Pumpkin Pies, Honey and Jam Hats (covered in bread), Treacle Fudge and a number of strange things I had never heard of before. I didn't want to miss any of it, so I took a bit of everything and paid eleven Sickles and seven Knuts. Then the table vanished into thin air.

Chris, Sian and Chrissie stared at me as I came back with my arms flooding with sweets and I tipped them onto the table.

"Someone's hungry," Chris chuckled.

"I'm starving," I said, taking a bite out of vanilla fudge. Chris, Sian and Chrissie all looked at the food and I looked from the food to them. "You can help yourselves if you like," I said. "I don't mind. Besides, there's enough here for us all to have."

"Thanks, Kiara," Chris, Sian and Chrissie said together in unison, and they dug in. for a time there was just the sound of us all eating.

"What are these?" I asked Chrissie, holding up a pack of Multi-Flavoured Fruit Frogs. "They're not _really_ frogs, are they?"

"Nah, but it's the card you want," said Chrissie. "Each pack's got a famous witch or wizard. We've got about five hundred between us."

I unwrapped my Multi-Flavoured Fruit Frog and picked up the card inside. It showed a man's face. He had a thin face, black hair that stood up all over the place and bright-green, almond-shaped eyes. He wore round glasses and had a lightning-shaped scar in the middle of his forehead. Underneath the picture was the name _Harry Potter_.

"Who's Harry Potter?" I asked. Chris, Sian and Chrissie just stared at me. "What?" I said.

"You don't know who Harry Potter _is_?" Chrissie gasped.

"No."

"Sian, you tell her. She knows more about his story than me or Chris do," Chrissie said, turning to Sian.

Sian gulped down the bit of cake she was eating and said, "Harry Potter is the Boy Who Lived. He's just as famous as you are, you know. Of course, your stories are both uncannily alike; except for the fact that his parents have been dead since he was a year old and yours are still living, but that's the massive difference, though. Anyhoo, Harry and his friends Ron and Hermione saved the world from the evil Lord Voldemort in 1998."

"Wow, he's been through a lot then," I said.

"Indeed he has," said Sian. After that we were silent again for a while, eating the sweets. Then I turned over Harry's card and read:

_Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived. Considered by many as the greatest wizard of modern times, Harry is most famous for defeating Lord Voldemort in 1998 and first getting rid of him in 1981. He is now in the Auror Department at the Ministry of Magic and is currently favourite to become the new head of the Aurors in a few years time. He is now married to Ginny Weasley, has three children and in his spare time he likes to go to Quidditch matches with his wife and spending time with his friends Ronald and Hermione Weasley. _

"You'll also find cards of Ron and Hermione in there also," said Sian.

I then put Harry's card down, and turned my attention to the All-Flavour Beans.

"You want to be careful with those," Chris warned me. "They _mean_ all flavours possible. There's chocolate and peppermint, and then you get vomit, earwax and dust. I even got a bogey flavoured one once."

"I've just had a great idea how we can pass our time away," said Sian suddenly.

"Oh, Sian, you're not going to get us to read our text books, are you?" sniggered Chrissie.

Sian shook her head and said, "No, silly. This'll be fun, you'll see. Are you three familiar with how swapsies work?" Me, Chris and Chrissie nodded. "Good," continued Sian. "Well, this game is like that. But before we begin, we have to eat all the frogs in order to get to the cards. Come on, let's eat them!"

"Anything for food!" said Chrissie, and we all tucked in. when we had finished the frogs and took hold of the cards, Sian said, "Right, now we have to get the cards – Chris, Chrissie, you two will have to pull your own out as will I – and we split them up fairly between us. When we've done that, we take a bean from the All-Flavour Bean bag and eat it. If it's a good sweet we get to keep a card. However, if it's a horrible sweet – meaning, if you make a face over a sweet that you don't like – you give a card to the person next to you. So, I'll give a card to Chris, Chris will give one to Kiara, Kiara will give a card to Chrissie and Chrissie will give one to me. If you keep a straight face even if you do get a horrible sweet you get to keep a card anyway. Everyone with me?" Me, Chris and Chrissie nodded. "Do you think it's a good idea for a game?" again, me, Chris and Chrissie nodded. "Good, then let's play …" Sian said, and play we did.

We spent the rest of our journey playing this game and we played it till the beans ran out. We all had a good pile of cards at the end and we had a laugh whilst we played, because we made some pretty weird faces whilst playing, let me tell you!

I had also got Crighton's card whilst playing. And while the others were busy talking about what was funny on television lately, I decided to read the back of her card. It said:

_Susan Crighton, currently Headmistress of Dragon Mort. Considered by many the greatest witch of modern times, Professor Crighton is currently famous for her defeat of the dark witch Femwaz in 1945 and work on alchemy with her partner, Nicola Fleming. Professor Crighton enjoys spending time with her family in her spare time. _

As we were travelling, I could tell that it was getting dark because the ocean water seemed to get darker as we travelled on. The four of us went to the changing rooms and changed into our uniforms. Then we heard a voice echoing: "First-years please stand in the middle of the submarine, for we will drop you into the water, where other transport will be taking you on to land, and our gamekeeper Mina Wickes will meet you there. Please leave your luggage on the submarines, they will be taken to the school separately."

We stood in the middle of the sub like the voice said, and I wasn't the only one who felt nervous, because we all looked pale. I felt like my stomach was lurching with nerves. Then the floor was taken away from my feet – that did actually happen by the way, because the floor suddenly opened, and the next thing we knew, we were in the deep, dark ocean.

We were floating there for a few minutes and I was wondering what was going to happen now, when I felt something swim past me and stopped by my side. It was a giant sea-turtle! I grabbed on to its back and we went upwards and swam to the shore.

It took us ten minutes to swim to the shore; I could feel the cold spray hitting me, but I didn't feel the water because the turtle must have kept it at bay. It was wonderful and magical, watching everyone swim beside me as we went to shore, seeing the water beside us. Paradise.

At last we arrived to shore. We stopped beside stone steps and climbed up them to where Mina stood. She was holding a lantern and smiled at us as we came to see her. "All righ' there, Kiara?" she said to me.

"Yeah, hi Mina," I said back.

When everyone was at the top of the hill, Mina said to us, "Righ', if yer look over there, yeh'll be able ter see Dragon Mort, look!"

There was a loud "Oooooh!" from us all, for we looked where Mina was pointing and we saw perched atop of a mountain on the other side, its windows sparkling in the starry sky, was a vast castle with many turrets and towers.

Without any of us seeing, Mina tapped the water twice with her foot, and we all looked at the water as it started to vibrate. Then the water rose and circled itself into a sort of portal which carried us into the school. "Here we go then," said Mina, turning to us. "Follow me when yer ready." And she jumped through the portal and we saw her skidding on it; it looked like she was surfing on the water. Me, Chris, Sian and Chrissie went after her, and then the rest followed on. We skidded quickly on that water and then we crashed into what felt like a brick wall. When we tripped out on the other side, we all saw that we were in a large entrance hall, with a staircase on one side and on the opposite side stood a pair of big front doors, where a number of voices could be heard from – the rest of the school must be seated in there already – and standing just outside the doors was a tall, red-haired witch in emerald-green robes who stood there. I could tell by how stern she was that this wasn't a witch who you wanted to mess with and who also – I guess – had a zero-tolerance policy. And it was to this witch that we went to.

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**So, that was chapter 6. There will be a few more laughs and other surprises to come along the way. I hope that you have all enjoyed this chapter. Please R&amp;R and I will write again soon. Thank you.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

**The Sorting Heads **

**Hey guys, K.J.A. here again. Sorry about not updating these past couple of days, but the next chapter is here now. I should mention that I have never been to Dover, so please don't judge me too harshly for my description of it. Oh, and I should mention that the headmistress (the mother of the Dawsons') is slightly biased, but she's a good person, just so you know. Oh, and if there are any of my old friends from Meols Cop, or Holy Trinity which moved on to other schools in the North West of England, you'll mention some of your names in here; so sorry if you don't want them mentioned, for I didn't know, so just email me and I will take them off for you. Now, here's the next chapter, anyway, so enjoy.**

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"Welcome to Dragon Mort," said the witch – who I was soon going to find out was called Professor Darbus, but more on that in the next chapter. "In a moment you will pass through these doors and join your classmates, but first you must be sorted into your houses; they are called Lion-Heart, Raven-Wings, Badger-Stripes and Snake-Eyes. Now, while you are here, your house will be something like your family. You will attend classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory and spend your free time in your house common room.

"I must tell you that while you are here your triumphs will earn your house points, and if there is any rule breaking your house will lose points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points will win the House Cup, a great honour. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house you are put in.

"I will be back for you in a moment and the Sorting Ceremony will begin momentarily." She then turned on her heel and walked through the doors behind her.

"It's true then," said a voice close to my left; I turned and saw the pale girl from Sir Waldin's robe shop. "They were saying it on the submarines. Kiara Pride-Lander has come to Dragon Mort."

I heard everyone gasp and felt many eyes on me. I just kept looking at the pale girl and the three people behind her. A tall, stout girl with blond, waist-length hair and green-blue eyes stepped forward.

"Oh, I'm her cousin, Keziah Rae-Bradley. And these two," said Rae-Bradley, pointing to the small, thin girls behind her, "are Crate and Gabber."

"And I'm Malty … Dani Malty," said the pale girl, coming towards me.

I heard Sian whisper, "It's like she's saying, _"The name's Bond ... James Bond"_." At this, Chrissie give a snigger behind me. Dani Malty looked at her.

"Think my name's funny, do you? No need to ask who you are. Brown hair, and a shiny-new uniform … you must be a Dawson."

She turned back to me.

"You'll soon find out that some wizarding families are better than others, Pride-Lander. You don't want to be making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there."

She held out her hand, but I didn't shake it.

"I think I can tell the wrong sort for myself, thanks," I said coolly.

"Nice move, kid," Sian whispered in my ear, as Malty glared at me, but I was glad when the witch came back and patted Malty on the shoulder. Malty turned round and went to join Rae-Bradley, Crate and Gabber. "We're ready for you now," said the witch. "So form a line and follow me."

I stood with Chrissie next to me and we walked through the double doors into the Great Hall.

I had never imagined such a strange and splendid place. It was lit by thousands and thousands of candles which were floating in mid-air over five long tables – four of which were from near the doors at the front of the Hall and just stopping at the steps which led up to the long, teachers' tables at the head of the Hall. These tables were laid with glittering silver plates and goblets. The witch led us first-years up here, so that we came to a line facing the teachers, with the students behind us. I guessed that the hundreds of faces looking at us looked like pale lanterns in the flickering candlelight. Manly to avoid the staring eyes, I looked upwards and saw a velvety black ceiling dotted with stars. I heard Sian whisper, "It's not real the ceiling. It's bewitched to look like the night's sky. I read about it in _Dragon Mort: A History_."

It was hard to believe there was a ceiling there at all, and that the Great Hall simply didn't open to the heavens.

I quickly looked at the witch again as she placed a four-legged stool in front of us. The witch turned to face the rest of the students and us and shouted, "The Sorting Heads!"

One after another, four smoky heads came through the double doors, stopped right in front of us and turned into an animal head; the first turned into a golden lion head, with a scarlet mane and eyes, the second a blue raven head with bronze eyes, the third a badger head, the black stripes remained, but the white were replaced with yellow, and then came the snake head, which was green apart from the eyes and underneath which were replaced with silver. As the rest of the students clapped and cheered, the four heads bowed to them and then turned to face the teachers.

"The Sorting Scroll, if you please," the witch said to the Sorting Heads. We all had to wait a minute, but then the snake-head opened its mouth, and the scroll floated in mid-air and passed slowly to the witch's hand. She then went back to where the stool stood and turned to face us first-years again.

"Now when I call your name," she said, "you will come forth, sit on the stool, and you will be Sorted into your houses." She held up the scroll and called out the first name, "Abbott, Harold."

A red-faced boy with blond hair stepped forward and sat on the stool. A moment's pause –

"SQUEAK!" shouted the badger-head.

The table on the right cheered and clapped as Harold went to sit down at the Badger-Stripes table.

"Bryce, Oliver!"

"SQUEAK!" shouted the badger-head again, and Oliver went off to join Harold.

"Bold, Tina!"

"CAW!" shouted the raven-head.

"Bore, Nikita" was next – she was the girl I saw in the sub room who had lost her toad – she had to wait a bit, but at last the lion-head roared and she went to join the Lion-Heart lot.

The table second from the left clapped this time; several Raven-Wings stood up to shake hands with Tina as she joined them.

"Black, Joseph" went to Raven-Wings too, but "Brown, Lawrence" became the first new Lion-Heart and the table on the far left exploded with cheers.

"Bull, Mackley" became the first Snake-Eyes. Perhaps it was my imagination, but I thought they looked like a rather unpleasant lot.

I was starting to feel sick now, my stomach kept lurching horribly, my mouth went dry and my palms were sweaty.

"Cole, Justine!"

"SQUEAK!"

When Chrissie's name was called, I could see that she looked absolutely terrified, but she walked up to the school and sat down quickly. She waited, and then –

"ROAR!" shouted the lion-head.

Relieved, Chrissie went to another table that I hadn't seen before, it was above the door to the Great Hall and she sat there.

"Dawson, Sian."

Sian almost ran to the stool and sat there eagerly waiting. The snake- and raven-heads were both after her, and argued, but eventually the lion-head had his say and let out a mighty -

"ROAR!"

I watched many more get sorted; "Garnett, Laura" went to Badger-Stripes, "Howard, Chelsea" and "Heredia, Stephanie" both went to Badger Stripes. Then, "Lunn, Callum" was put in Lion-Heart.

Malty swaggered forward when her name was called and she got her wish at once, for as soon as she had sat on the stool the snake-head gave a "HISS!" the same happened with Rae-Bradley, too.

There weren't many of us left now.

"Mack" … "Mann" … "Nott" … "Parker" … and then, at last –

"Pride-Lander, Kiara!"

As I stepped forward, whispers suddenly broke out like spitting fires all over the hall.

"_Pride-Lander_, did she say?"

"_The_ Kiara Pride-Lander?"

When I sat on the stool, I saw the entire hall staring at me. So to avoid the eyes, I looked up at the Sorting Heads. I waited. Then, something weird happened …

The raven- and badger-heads both moved to the wall, as the lion- and snake-heads both started having an argument with each other. No one could understand what they were saying – for it was all just spitting, hissing and growling, and then a voice in my head started to say, "Not Snake-Eyes, not Snake-Eyes."

Somehow, the heads could tell what was going through my head because every now and then they would look at me. It wasn't just me who was watching this though, because I saw the rest of the students following the heads like they were watching a tennis rally. Finally the two heads stopped. For a minute all was quiet. Then –

"ROOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRR!" the lion-head almost flew me off the stool; its roar was that loud. But it wasn't just me though; students were picking themselves off the floor and were sitting back down again.

When all was still and as it was before, I got off the stool and walked towards where Sian and Chrissie were. I was so relieved not to have been put in Snake-Eyes that I didn't realise that I was receiving the biggest cheer yet; people were patting my shoulder as I walked past until I reached Sian and Chrissie, who placed me between them. I now could see the High Table properly. The table in the middle was empty, but I didn't take much notice of that, for I looked along and saw Mina, who grinned at me, and I grinned back and I also spotted Professor Quarrel from the Witching Service, too.

There were a few people to be sorted now. Sian, Chrissie and I cheered loudly when Chris was put in Lion-Heart. Then "Rimmer, Beki" was put in Lion-Heart, "Rimmer, Christopher" was put in Badger-Stripes, "Rimmer, Sarah" – his sister by the looks of things – was put in Lion-Heart, "Seddon, Jonathon", "Seddon, Peter" and "Simms, Jack" were put in Lion-Heart also, along with "Thistlethwaite, Lia".

Finally, "Zamba, Biana" was placed in Snake-Eyes. The witch took up the stool, ravelled up the scroll and took them away, just as the Sorting Heads all went out of the Great Hall.

I looked down at my empty plate. I had only just realised how hungry I was. The sweets I had on the submarine seemed ages ago.

The witch stood at the teachers table and said loudly, "Here is our Headmistress of Dragon Mort, Susan Crighton!"

The Sorting Heads swooped back into the Great Hall, and spun around in the middle, as a blinding white light surrounded them. As the light vanished and the Sorting Heads left the hall for the second – and hopefully – last time – a tall, thin woman, with bright, twinkling green eyes and waist-length brown hair, which was going silver stood in the middle. I would recognise her from anywhere, for she was Professor Crighton, the witch who I had met earlier this year, just before I got my letter. She had a large smile on her face and her arms were held wide in welcome.

"Welcome one – and all – to Dragon Mort Magical Academy!" she said loudly. As she walked to the teachers table to take her seat there, the students – including us first years – applauded loudly together. When she stood behind the table and in front of her seat, the hall fell silent and we all looked eagerly at her.

"Welcome!" she said again. "Welcome to a new year at Dragon Mort! Before we begin our feast, I would like to say a few words. And these are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!

"Thank you!"

She sat down. Everyone cheered and clapped again. I didn't know whether to laugh or not.

"Is she – a bit mad?" I asked Sian uncertainly.

"Mad?" said Sian airily. "My mother's a genius, Kiara! Best witch in the world! But yes, I suppose she is a bit mad. Potatoes, Kiara?"

My mouth fell open. The dishes in front of me were now piled with food. I had never seen so many delicious things I'd like to eat on one table; roast beef, roast chicken, pork and lamb chops, sausages, bacon and steak, boiled potatoes, roast potatoes, chips, Yorkshire pudding, peas, carrots, gravy, ketchup and, for some reason, mint humbugs.

My grandmothers had always kept me well fed, but I had never had this much food on a table before my time at Dragon Mort. I piled my plate with a bit of everything except the mint humbugs and began to eat. It was all delicious.

As we were eating, a ghost appeared through one of the plates. We all jumped at this. She said to us, "Hello! How are you? Welcome to Lion-Heart!"

When the ghost had finished this, there was a commotion in the Great Hall, for all the other school ghosts came floating in through the walls and started to show off a bit.

"You're Madam Nicola, aren't you?" asked Sian eagerly. "Resident ghost of Lion-Heart Tower!"

"That's right, my dear girl, I am Madam Nicola!" said the ghost. I looked at Madam Nicola closely and saw that she was wearing a long gown and had her hair partly tied up, for it rumbled down her back ever so smoothly, it was very beautiful to behold. Anyhoo, Madam Nicola looked at Sian closely and then exclaimed, "Galloping gargoyles! You're Sian Dawson, eldest Dawson girl and Susan Crighton's favourite child, aren't you?"

Sian sighed and said indignantly, "Isn't there a person here who my mother hasn't told about me yet?"

Madam Nicola chuckled and said, "Well, she has a right to be proud of you after all the things she says that you have done, you know?"

"Yes, I do. But I do wish that my parents would talk about some of the things my other siblings have done for once, because I always seem to think that my parents only have one child in the family, and that's me, their eldest! I mean, don't get me wrong, it's great and all, but I just wish that they would concentrate some of their attention on my other siblings, that's all!"

"That's very selfless of you," said Madam Nicola, surprised.

"Yes, well, sometimes I do think of that, but that's only when I'm feeling really low," said Sian.

"Hey, I know you!" burst in Chrissie suddenly and Madam Nicola looked at her. "You're Nearly Headless Nicola!"

"I prefer _Madam_ Nicola, if you don't mind!" said Madam Nicola indignantly.

"_Nearly_ headless?" said Chris. "How can you be _Nearly _Headless?"

"It'll put you off your food," muttered Sian, looking down at her plate and continuing to eat.

"Like _this_," Madam Nicola said irritably. She seized her left ear and pulled. Her whole head swung off its neck and fell on to her shoulder as if it was on a hinge. Someone had obviously tried to behead her, but not done it properly. Me, Chris and Chrissie were quite horrified by what we had just seen; as for Sian, she just kept eating as if nothing had just happened. I was astonished by this! I mean, a ghost pulled almost its whole head off, and she wasn't affected one bit! I didn't understand, so I asked her, "How were you not affected by that?"

She simply replied, "I've lived through a lot, Kiara. Enough said." And I didn't say anything after that, but I did wonder what she had lived through and seen, for it seemed that nothing surprised this girl.

"Do you ever get surprised by anything?" I asked Sian.

"No, not really."

When we had eaten as much as we could, the remains of the food faded from the plates, leaving them sparkling clean as before. A moment later the puddings appeared. Blocks of ice-cream in every flavour you could think of, apple pies, treacle tarts, chocolate éclairs and jam doughnuts, trifle, strawberries, jelly, rice pudding …

As I helped myself to a treacle tart, the talk turned to our families.

"Well, our family are all pure-bloods," said Chrissie. I looked shocked, but then Chrissie said, "Oh, don't look at me like that, kid. We're not like those snobbish pure-blood families, don't you worry. Our family all believe that it doesn't matter if you're pure-blood or Muggle-born, if you have magic in you and have talent, then you have a right to show yourself as you want to be. Isn't that right, S.D.?"

Sian gulped the bit of pudding down that she was eating and said, "Chrissie's right, Kiara. We will help anyone who needs it and be there for people, as long as they have a good heart and deserve to be helped."

"I'm glad to hear that," I said. Then I turned to Chris. "How about your real family, Chris? I mean, how did you end up coming to live with the Dawson clan, if you don't mind me asking?"

Chris turned to me and said, "Not at all. Well, when I was a baby, my mum took care of me, 'cause my dad was doing something from the Ministry, that's what Ma told me. Anyhoo, when he disappeared as I was told then – I understand now that they were really telling me he died – my mum didn't take it very well. She started to ignore me and she was screaming. Apparently, a couple of weeks went by, and then Social Services were called. She – my mum – was taken to a mental institution, whilst I was put into care …"

"But how did you come to live with the Dawson's?"

"I'm getting to that, Kiara, for you see, I waited in that care home four years until Professor Crighton and her husband came to get me, and I went home with them. I've considered them as my parents ever since, that's why I call them Ma and Dad and consider Sian, Chrissie and the rest of their siblings as my siblings also."

"Wow", I said, "and I thought I'd had a pretty bad start to living in this world."

"Yeah, I know. But, what're you going to do, eh?" he said, giving a dry chuckle; but he didn't seem to happy afterwards. I waited a few minutes before I said, "Do you have anything from them?"

"Yeah, I do." And he pulled from his pocket a ring with a black diamond in the middle and purple runes surrounding the silver binding. "I remember the people in care giving me this before I left with Ma and Dad. They told me that my real father gave this to my real mother before he went away on his mission."

"Mission? To where?" I asked Chris.

"To Africa. He was in a base there when he disappeared in mysterious circumstances."

"Interesting …" I muttered to myself as I kept eating. The place where I was attacked and where Zira fled. I thought that Chris' father _could _have been watching what Zira was doing over there. But I pushed that out of my head as the topics switched from families to studies at the school.

Chris then turned to Sian and discussed lessons with her: "I _do _hope they start straight away, there's so much to learn, I'm particularly interested in Transfiguration, you know, turning something into something else, of course, it's supposed to be difficult, but I am willing to get started straight away."

"Oh, me too, dear brother, me too. Transfiguration is a subject that I want to get started on, too, but we'll be starting off small, you know, just matches into needles and that sort of thing, Ma told me."

I was starting to feel warm and sleepy, so I looked up at the High Table again. Mina was drinking deeply from her goblet. The witch who had sorted us was talking deeply with Professor Crighton. Professor Quarrel was talking to a teacher with greasy strawberry-blonde hair, a hooked nose and sallow skin. She also had circle spectacles on.

It happened very suddenly. The hook-nosed teacher looked past Quarrel's turban straight into my eyes – and a sharp, hot pain shot across the scar on my forehead.

"Ouch!" I clapped a hand to my forehead.

"What is it?" asked Chrissie.

"N-nothing."

The pain had gone as quickly as it had come. Harder to shake off was the feeling I had got from the teacher's look – a feeling that I didn't like at all. I decided to ask Sian about the teacher, because I thought that she was the one who knew most about the school and the teachers in it. So I leant across the table to talk to her.

"Sian, who is that teacher talking to Professor Quarrel?"

"Oh, you know Quarrel already, do you? No wonder she's looking nervous, that's Professor Triphorm. She teaches Potions, but everyone knows she fancies the Dark Arts. She's been after Quarrel's job for years. My family have all met her, you know."

"You have?" I said, shocked.

"Oh yes," said Sian. "You see, Professor Triphorm, Professor Darbus – the teacher who sorted us into our houses – and some old friend and colleague of Ma's whose name I forget came round to ours this Christmas just gone. It went well for some of the Christmas dinner, but then it all went wrong …" Sian was shaking her head in embarrassment and shame.

"Why, what happened?"

"Well, this buffoon," said Sian, pointing to Chris, "Ben and Dave – who we have fostered – and Beth and Kerry our twin sisters started throwing food at them. I was embarrassed, Ma yelled at them a lot, Darbus and Triphorm always said that they would get the ones who threw food at them and the old friend and colleague of Ma's, do you know what she did, Kiara?"

"No, what?"

"She laughed."

"What!?"

"Yeah, I know! She just sat there and laughed her head off! Honestly, sometimes I think she's just as mad as Ma is, though if you meet Ma in private, don't tell her I said that." And to this day I've kept that promise.

I watched Triphorm for a while but Triphorm didn't look at me again.

At last, the puddings too disappeared and Professor Crighton got to her feet again. The Hall fell silent.

"Ahem – just a few more words now we are all fed and watered. I have a few start-of-term notices to give you.

"First-years should note that the forest in the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students would do well to remember that as well."

Crighton's twinkling eyes flashed in the direction of a pair of twin girls down below.

"I have also been asked by Mr Match, the caretaker, to remind you all that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors.

"Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of term. Anyone interested in playing for their house teams should contact Sir Turner.

"And finally, I must tell you that this year, the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death."

"_Painful?_" said Chris.

"_Death?_" said Chrissie.

"Honestly, you two are just like Shaggy and Scooby-Doo," muttered Sian.

"Right, I've said all that is important and what you need to know for the year ahead," said Crighton, smiling at us all. "And now, off to bed! Off you go!"

As Crighton walked round the table, Sian quickly went down from the table we were sitting at and went to meet her mother. I closely followed Sian from behind.

"Hello, Mother," said Sian to Crighton, whose back was turned. When she heard her daughter's voice, she turned to face her. When Crighton saw her, her face lit up.

"Is that my Siany?" she asked.

"The one and only, Ma," said Sian. Then she ran to Crighton, who picked her up and spun her round. For the first time since I had seen her that morning, Sian looked was smiling like a young girl, full of joy and laughter. "Ma, put me down," giggled Sian. Crighton put Sian down and then they began to talk.

It had to be seen to be believed, but the resemblance between Sian and her mother was uncanny; even though Sian was slightly smaller than her mother, they looked remarkably alike. And the relationship between them was astounding; it was like they shared a special connection – a bond if you will – which no one, not even those two, could figure out. It was so beautiful to see them together as I watched them talk, that it made me think about what the relationship with my own mother could have been like, which made me feel sad. Sian must have noticed a look on my face or something, because the next thing I can remember, she touched me on my shoulder, and I looked into her concerned face, with her mother just behind her.

"Are you all right, Kiara?" Sian asked me. "It's just that you seem upset. What's wrong?"

"It's just that I was thinking about the relationship between you and your mother, and what the relationship with my own mother could have been."

"Oh, my dear child, we are sorry," said Crighton, stepping forward so that I could hear her more clearly. "Anyway, it's good to see you and Sian getting along so nicely Kiara, even though you just met today. What house are you in, Kiara?"

"Lion-Heart, ma'am," I said to Crighton.

"Splendid, just like your parents before you. Well, I'll let you go off to bed, for I can see Perdy at the door waiting for you. Look after Kiara, Sian."

"I will, Mother, I promise," said Sian to her mother.

"And you be sure to come to my office on Saturday, Sian. I want to hear how your fist week of school went."

"Yes Mother."

"Good girl," said Crighton, hugging her daughter and kissing her on the head. "Goodnight girls."

"Goodnight, Ma," said Sian.

Goodnight, ma'am," I said, and then me and Sian ran towards the door to the Great Hall, where Perdy was waiting for us. When we joined her and the rest of our fellow first-years, we followed Perdy out of the Great Hall and up the marble staircase. My legs were like lead, but this time it was because I was so tired and full of food. I was too sleepy to be surprised that the people in the portraits along the corridors whispered and pointed as we passed, or twice Perdy led us through sliding passages and hanging tapestries. We climbed more staircases, yawning and dragging our feet, and I was wondering how much further we had to go when we came to a sudden halt.

A bundle of floating sticks were floating in mid-air ahead of us and as Perdy took a step towards them they started throwing themselves at her.

"Weeves," Perdy whispered to us. "A poltergeist." She raised her voice, "Weeves – show yourself."

A loud, rude sound, like the sir being let out of a balloon, answered.

"Do you want me to go to the Bloody Baroness?"

There was a _pop_ and a little woman with wicked dark eyes and a wide mouth appeared, floating cross-legged in the air, clutching the walking sticks.

"Oooooooh!" she said, with an evil cackle. "Ickle firsties! What fun!"

She swooped suddenly at us. We all ducked.

"Go away, Weeves, or the Baroness'll hear about this, I mean it!" barked Perdy.

Weeves stuck out her tongue and vanished, dropping the walking sticks on Nikita's head. We heard her zooming away, rattling coats of armour as she passed.

"You want to watch out for Weeves," said Perdy, as we set off again. "The Bloody Baroness's the only one who can control her, she won't even listen to us Prefects. Here we are."

At the end of the corridor hung a portrait of a very fat man in blue robes.

"Password?" he said.

"_Caput Draconis_," said Perdy, and the portrait swung forward to reveal a round hole in the wall. We all scrambled through it – Nikita needed a leg up – and we found ourselves in the Lion-Heart common room, a cosy, round room full of squashy armchairs.

"This is the Lion-Heart common room," said Perdy to us. "The staircase will lead to the dormitories; girls down to your left, boys the same on your right. You'll already find that all your belongings have been brought up for you."

So we went to our dormitories. Sian and Chrissie said that I could sleep in their dormitory at the top of the stairs, because their mother was the headmistress; so, of course, I joined them. Inside, three four-posters hung with different coloured curtains for each bed; Sian's was deep blue, Chrissie's was deep green and mine were deep gold. Our trunks had already been brought up for us, as Perdy already said they would be. Too tired to talk much, we pulled on our pyjamas and got into bed. I was going to ask Chrissie if she'd had any treacle tart, but I fell asleep almost at once.

Perhaps I had eaten a bit too much, for I remember vaguely having a very strange dream. I was wearing Professor Quarrel's turban, which kept telling me to transfer to Snake-Eyes at once, because it was my destiny. I told the turban I didn't want to be in Snake-Eyes; it got heavier and heavier; I tried to pull it off but it tightened painfully – and I remember Malty laughing at me as I struggled with it – and then Malty turned into Triphorm, whose laugh became high and cold – there was a burst of green light and I awoke, sweating and shaking.

I rolled over and fell asleep again, and when I woke the next day, I vaguely remembered the dream at all. The only reason I know of it now, is because I used a pensieve (which I'll get to _much_ later) to look at my old memories for this book for some of the stuff that I had forgotten, and that's how I remember this dream, before anyone asks any questions. Now, on with the story.

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**So, that was chapter 7. I hope you enjoyed it. Please R&amp;R and I will write again soon.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

**The Potions Mistress**

"There, look."

"Where?"

"Between the tall girl with the dark-brown hair, and the tall boy with the light-brown hair."

"With the golden hair?"

"Did you see her face?"

"Did you see her scar?"

Whispers followed me everywhere from the moment I left my dormitory next day. People queuing outside classrooms stood on tiptoe to get a look at me, or doubled back to pass me in the corridors again, staring. I really wished they wouldn't that first week, because I was trying to concentrate on finding my way to classes and seeing as the school was so big – and still is – it's difficult to find your way when people are looking at you and you don't know which classroom is which.

There are a hundred and forty-two staircases at Dragon Mort: wide, sweeping ones; narrow, rickety ones; some that led somewhere different on a Monday – worst day of the week, by-the-by – some with a vanishing step halfway up that you had to remember to jump. Then there were doors that wouldn't open unless you asked politely, or tickled them in exactly the right place, and doors that weren't really doors at all, but solid walls just pretending. It was also very hard to remember where anything was, because it all seemed to move around a lot. The people in the portraits all kept going to visit each other and I was sure the coats of armour could walk.

The ghosts didn't help that much either. It was always a nasty shock when one of them glided suddenly through a door you were trying to open. Madam Nicola was always happy to point new Lion-Hearts in the right direction, but Weeves the poltergeist was worth two locked doors and a trick staircase if you met her when you were late for class. She would drop waste-paper baskets on your head, pull rugs from under your feet, pelt you with bits of chalk or sneak up behind you, invisible, grab your nose and screech, "GOT YOUR CONK!"

Even worse than Weeves, if that were possible, was the caretaker, Douglas Match, who everyone called "Matchstick". Me, Chris and Chrissie managed to get on the wrong side of him on our very first morning. Match found us trying to force our way through a door which unluckily turned out to be the entrance to the out-of-bounds corridor on the third floor. He wouldn't believe we were lost, was sure that we were trying to break into it on purpose and was threatening to lock us in the dungeons when we were rescued by Professor Quarrel, who was passing.

Match owned a cat called Mrs Robbs, a scrawny, dirt-coloured creature with bulging red eyes, unlike Match's. She patrolled the corridors alone. Break a rule in front of her, put just one toe out of line, and she'd whisk off for Match, who'd appear wheezing, two seconds later. Match knew the secret passageways of the school better than anyone (except perhaps the twin girls who Crighton looked at during the start-of-term feast) and could pop up as suddenly as any of the ghosts. The students all hated him and it was the dearest ambition of many to give Mrs Robbs a good kick.

And once you had managed to find them, there were the lessons themselves. There was a lot more to magic than waving your wand around and saying a few words, as I soon discovered.

We had astronomy once a week at Wednesday at midnight, where we would look through our telescopes and learn the names of different stars and the movements of the planets. A rather interesting topic, not only because the universe looks so beautiful when you get a chance to look at it, but also because it's interesting to learn about all the different planets in the solar system. Unfortunately, it left us feeling rather tired the very next day.

Three times a week we went out to the greenhouses behind the castle to study Herbology, where we learnt how to take care of all the strange plants and fungi and we found out what magical properties they possessed. A plump wizard called Professor Spud taught us that subject – well, he preferred to be called "Spud" by everyone, because he hated being called "Professor Spud" because it sounded too formal, and everyone liked him, because he had this quality about him which made you like him and he was down with the kids, and cool and hip. A lot of students – me included – thought he was "da bomb", and we were sad when he left many years after the Great Battle had ended.

Easily the most boring lesson was History of Magic, which was the only class taught by a ghost. Professor Yawn had been very old indeed when she had fallen asleep in front of the staff-room fire and got up next morning to teach, leaving her body behind her. Yawn drove on and on while we scribbled down dates and got Emeric the Evil and Uric the Oddball mixed up.

Professor Winds (yes, I know, make your jokes), the Charms teacher, was a tiny little witch who had to stand on a pile of books to see over her desk. At the start of the first lesson she took the register, and when she reached my name she gave an excited squeak and toppled out of sight.

Professor Darbus was again different. I had been quite right to think she wasn't a teacher to cross. Strict and clever, she gave us all a talking-to the moment we had sat down in her first class.

"Transfiguration is some of the most complex and dangerous magic you will learn at Dragon Mort," she said. "Anyone messing around in my class will leave and not come back. You have been warned."

Then she changed her desk into a dog and back. We were all impressed and couldn't wait to get started, but soon realised we weren't going to be changing the furniture into animals for a long time. After making a lot of complicated notes, we were each given a match and started trying to turn it into a needle. By the end of the lesson, only the eldest Dawson girl had made any difference to her match; Professor Darbus showed the rest of us how the match had gone all silver and pointy and gave Sian a rare smile.

The class we had all really been looking forward to was Defence Against the Dark Arts, but Quarrel's lessons turned out to be a bit of a joke. Her classroom smelled strongly of garlic, which everyone said was to ward off a vampire she'd met in Romania and was afraid would be coming back to get her one of these days. Her turban, she told us, had been given to her by an Indian Prince as a thank-you for getting rid of a troublesome zombie, but none of us really believed that story. For one thing, when Sara Finn asked to hear eagerly how Quarrel got her turban, Quarrel went pink and started talking about the weather; for another, we had noticed that a funny smell hung around the turban, and the two girls Crighton's eyes met in the Great Hall at the start-of-term feast said that it was stuffed with garlic as well, so that Quarrel was protected everywhere she went.

I was very relieved to find out that I wasn't miles behind everyone else. Lots of people had come from Muggle families and there was so much to learn that even people like Chrissie didn't have much of a head start.

Friday was an important day for Chris, Chrissie and I. We finally managed to find our way down to the Great Hall for breakfast without getting lost once.

"What have we got today?" I asked Chrissie, as I helped myself to porridge and Chris was tucking into toast.

"Double Potions with the Snake-Eyes," said Chrissie. "Triphorm's head of Snake-Eyes house. They say she always favours them – we'll be able to see if it's true."

"Wish Darbus favoured us," Chris said, and I agreed with him. Professor Darbus was head of Lion-Heart house, but it hadn't stopped her from giving us a huge pile of homework the day before.

Just then, the post arrived. I'd gotten used to that by that time, but it had given me quite a shock the first morning, when about a hundred owls had suddenly streamed into the Great Hall during breakfast, circling the tables until they saw their owners and dropping letters and packages into their laps.

I had received a letter from my grandmother Sirabi already, seeing as I had sent her one a few days before. It arrived the day before. I still have it now. This is what it said;

_My dearest Kiara, _

_Sarafina and I are so glad to hear that you have made a few friends and that you are enjoying the few classes you've had so far. It makes us both relieved to hear that you are well and have made friends already, for we have both been anxious that you would be the odd one in the pack, so thank you for putting us both out of misery. We know the school seems big to you now and you are getting lost easily, but don't worry, this will all fade away in time, never you fear. _

_Right, I must go, for I have cleaning to do. Keep smiling, keep in touch and do try to keep yourself out of trouble if you can. Hope to hear from you soon. _

_Lots of love,_

_Grandmother Sarabi_

_P.S.: Congratulations on making Lion-Heart, darling. I am so proud of __you today. Love you. Xoxo! _

Anyhoo, apart from the letter above, Harold hadn't brought me anything. He sometimes flew in to nibble my ear and have a bit of toast before going off to sleep in the owlery with the other school owls. This morning, however, he fluttered down between the marmalade and the sugar bowl and dropped a note on to my plate. I tore it open at once.

_Dear Kiara _(it said, in a very untidy scrawl)

_I know you get Friday afternoons off, so would you like to come and have a cup of tea with me around three? I want to hear all about your first week. Send us an answer back with Harold. _

_Mina_

I borrowed Chrissie's quill, scribbled _"Yes, please, see you later"_ on the back of the note and sent Harold away again.

It was lucky that I had tea with mina to look forward to, because the Potions lesson turned out to be the worst thing that had happened to me so far.

At the start-of-term feast, I had got the idea that Professor Triphorm disliked me. By the end of the first Potions lesson, I knew I'd been wrong. Triphorm didn't dislike me – she _hated_ me.

Potions lessons took place down in one of the dungeons. It was colder here than up in the main castle and would have been quite creepy enough without the pickled animals floating in glass jars all around the walls.

I found myself sat next to Sian, who was looking awkward and at anywhere but me. Chris and Chrissie were sat next to me, and they could feel the tension radiating off of Sian. I wondered why this was, for she had seemed really nice on the sub. I wondered whether I had done or said anything to upset her so early on, but after I thought about it for a few moments, I reasoned with myself that it was impossible, for we had rarely spoken after the first night at Dragon Mort. But what surprised me most was when Sian turned to me as I was lost in thought and said almost awkwardly, "So, Kiara? What do you think of Dragon Mort so far?"

I looked at her in surprise, for not only was she talking to me for the first time in days, but she was also using a different tone of voice, which was far different from her bossy and teacher voices. She was also smiling at me kindly, reassuring me with her eyes that I could talk to her, which gave me comfort, and some confidence, too, although at that point, I didn't know why this was, but I'll get to that later.

Anyway, after I had recovered from the shock of Sian talking to me again, I said slowly and rather nervously, "Well ... I like it here so far. I mean, there are a few people I don't like, but that's to be expected; but, I didn't realise that there was so much more to magic than just waving your wand around and saying a bunch of words. I still feel a little freaked out by that, but ..." I sighed, having nothing else to say. Fortunately enough, though, Sian patted my arm reassuringly. I looked at her, and saw her smiling at me comfortingly.

After a few moments, she nodded her head and said, "I understand, Kiara. It's hard being away from your family, and having to adjust and make new friends and learning all sorts of new things about magic which you never learnt about before. But don't worry, though," she said, as I looked worried, "you'll get used to it in time. You've made a few friends here, and I'm sure that you'll feel comfortable and feel like this place will be a home away from home. Besides," she added, with a mischievous and joking look in her eyes, "you can't be any worse than Chrissie is sure to be."

"Hey!" Chrissie yelled indignantly. A few people turned around, and as Sian was laughing and Chrissie looked ready to come back with a retort, the door banged open and Triphorm came striding into the room and walked over to her desk, and the room fell silent.

Triphorm, like Winds, started off the class by taking the register, and like Winds, stopped when she reached my name.

"Ah, yes," she said softly, "Kiara Pride-Lander. Our new _celebrity_."

Dani Malty, friends Crate and Gabber and her cousin Rae-Bradley sniggered behind their hands. Triphorm finished calling the names and looked at us. Her eyes were an icy sort of blue, which seemed to freeze whenever I looked into them, and made me freeze in my seat. As I looked at her even more closely, I saw that she had freckles covering almost every inch of her face.

"You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion-making," she began. She spoke in barely more than a whisper, but we caught every word – like Professor Darbus, Triphorm had the gift of keeping a class silent without effort. "As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses … I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death – if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach."

More silence followed this little speech. Me, Chris and Chrissie exchanged looks with raised eyebrows. Sian was on the edge of her seat and looked desperate to start proving that she wasn't a dunderhead.

"Pride-Lander!" said Triphorm suddenly. "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

_Powdered root of what to an infusion of what? _I glanced at Chrissie who looked bewildered, and then at Chris who was just as stumped as I was; Sian's hand had shot into the air.

"I don't know, ma'am," I said.

Triphorm's lips curled into a sneer.

"Tut, tut – fame clearly isn't everything."

She ignored Sian's hand.

"Let's try again. Pride-Lander, where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?"

Sian stretched her hand as high into the air as it would go without her leaving her seat, but I didn't have the faintest idea what a bezoar was. I tried not to look at Malty, Crate, Gabber and Rae-Bradley, who were shaking with laughter.

"I don't know, ma'am."

"Thought you wouldn't open a book before you came here, eh, Pride-Lander?"

I forced myself to keep looking into those cold eyes. I _had_ looked through my books at my grandmother's place, but did Triphorm really expect me to remember everything in _One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi_?

Triphorm was still ignoring Sian's quivering hand.

"What is the difference, Pride-Lander, between monkshood and wolfsbane?"

At this, Sian stood up, her hand stretching towards the dungeon ceiling.

"I don't know, ma'am," I said quietly. "I think Sian does, though, why don't you ask her?"

A few people laughed at this; I caught Zara's eye and Zara winked. Sian on the other hand sat back down with her eye over her eyes and said a low "Oh-ho-ho". And Triphorm was not amused at all.

"For your information, Pride-Lander, asphodel and wormwood make a sleeping potion so powerful it is known as the Draught of Living Death. A bezoar is a stone taken from the stomach of a goat and it will save you from most poisons. As for monkshood and wolfsbane, they are the same plant, which also goes by the name of aconite. Well? Why aren't you all copying that down?"

There was a sudden rummaging for quills and parchment. Over the noise, Triphorm said, "And a point will be taken from Lion-Heart, Pride-Lander, for your cheek."

Potions didn't improve for us Lion-Hearts after that. Triphorm put us all into pairs and set us to mixing up a simple potion to cure boils. She swept around in her long red cloak, watching us weigh dried nettles and crush snake fangs, criticising almost everyone except Malty, whom she seemed to like. She was just telling us all to look at the perfect way Malty had stewed her horned slugs when clouds of acid green smoke and a loud hissing filled the dungeon. Nikita had somehow managed to melt Sara's cauldron into a twisted blob and their potion was sweeping across the stone floor, burning holes in people's shoes. Within seconds, all of us were standing on our stool, whilst Nikita, who had been drenched in the potion when the cauldron collapsed, moaned in pain as angry red boils sprang up all over her arms and legs.

"Idiot girl!" snarled Triphorm, clearing the spilled potion away with one wave of her wand. "I suppose you added the porcupine quills before taking the cauldron off the fire?"

Nikita whimpered as the boils started to pop up all over her nose.

"Take her to the hospital wing," Triphorm spat at Sara. Then she rounded on me and Chrissie, who had been working next to Nikita.

"You – Pride-Lander – why didn't you tell her not to add the quills? Thought she'd make you look good if she got it wrong, did you? That's another point you've lost for Lion-Heart."

This was so unfair that I opened my mouth to argue, but Chrissie held me back.

"Don't push it," she muttered. "I've heard Triphorm can turn very nasty."

As we climbed the steps out of the dungeon an hour later, my mind was racing and my spirits were low. I'd lost two points for Lion-Heart in my very first week – I kept asking myself _why_ Triphorm hated me so much?

"Cheer up, Kiara," said Chrissie. "Many people lose points from Triphorm all the time, ain't that right, Rickers?"

"Chrissie's right, Kiara," Chris said. "Anyway, can me and Chrissie come to see Mina with you?"

"Sure you can."

"Great! Hey, S.D.," Chris yelled to Sian, who turned back and looked at us in wonder, "d'you want to come and see Mina with me, Kiara and Chrissie?"

"Thanks for the offer, Rickers, but I can't."

"Why not?"

"Well, you see I'm seeing Ma tomorrow night, and seeing as I've got an afternoon off, I thought I'd use it as a way to get some of my homework done tonight, so that I can be free tomorrow night and Sunday to do whatever I want. Sorry," she said, looking at us apologetically. Then she turned on her heel and walked to the Great Hall.

"Has she always been like that?" I asked Chrissie.

"I'm afraid so, Kiara," Chrissie sighed.

At five to three, me, Chris and Chrissie left the castle and made our way across the grounds. Mina lived in a small wooden house on the edge of the Black Forest. A crossbow and a pair of galoshes were outside the front door.

When I knocked we heard a frantic scrabbling from inside and several booming barks. Then Mina's voice rang out, saying, "_Back_, Gnasher – _back_."

Mina's round face appeared in the crack as she pulled the door open.

"Hang on," she said. "_Back_, Gnasher."

She let us in, struggling to keep a tight hold on the collar of an enormous black boarhound.

There was only one room inside. Hams and pheasants were hanging from the ceiling, a copper kettle was boiling on the open fire and in a corner stood a massive bed with a patchwork quilt over it.

"Make yerselves at home," said Mina, letting go of Gnasher, who bounded straight at Chrissie and started licking her ears. Like Mina, Gnasher was clearly not as fierce as she looked.

"This is Chrissie and Chris," I told Mina, who was pouring water into a large teapot and putting rock cakes on to a plate.

"Two members of the Dawson Clan, eh?" said Mina, gazing at Chris and Chrissie. "Yer mother's told me all about yer, 'specially yer eldest sister. She won't stop goin' on about her."

"Yeah, that happens a lot," said Chrissie, and Mina chuckled.

The rock cakes almost broke our teeth, but me, Chris and Chrissie pretended to enjoy them as we told Mina all about our first lessons. Gnasher rested her head on my knee and drooled all over my uniform.

Me, Chris and Chrissie were delighted to hear Mina call Match "that old mooey".

"An as fer that cat, Mrs Robbs, I'd like ter introduce her to Gnasher some time. D'yeh know, every time I go up ter the school, she follows me everywhere? Can't get rid of her – Matchstick puts her up to it."

I told Mina about Triphorm's lesson. Mina, like Chris and Chrissie, told me not to worry about it, that Triphorm hardly liked any of the students.

"But she seemed to really _hate _me."

"Rubbish!" said Mina. "Why should she?"

Yet I couldn't help thinking that Mina didn't quite meet my eyes when she said that.

"How's yer cousin Kat?" Mina asked Chris and Chrissie. "I liked her a lot – great with animals."

I wondered if Mina had changed the subject on purpose. Whilst Chris and Chrissie told Mina all about Kat's work with dragons, I picked up a piece of paper that was lying on the table under the tea cosy. It was a cutting from the _Daily Squabbler_.

_FAUNTROTTS BREAK-IN LATEST_

_Investigations continue into the break-in at Fauntrotts on 30__th__ July, widely believed to be the work or dark wizards or witches unknown. _

_Fauntrotts' fauns today insisted that nothing had been taken. The vault that was searched had in fact been emptied the same day._

"_But we're not telling you what was in there, so keep your noses out if you know what's good for you," said a Fauntrotts spokesfaun this afternoon. _

"Mina!" I said. "That Fauntrotts break-in happened on the same day as my birthday! Grandmother Sirabi took what was in the vault the fauns were searching and said that she gave it to you! Anyhoo, the break-in might have happened whilst me and my grandmother were there!"

There was no doubt about it, Mina definitely didn't meet my eyes that time. She grunted and offered me another rock cake. I read the story again. _The vault that was searched had in fact been emptied earlier the same day._ My grandmother had emptied the mysterious vault, if you could call it emptying, taking out that grubby little package. Had that been what the thieves were looking for?

As me, Chris and Chrissie walked back to the castle for dinner, our pockets were weighed down with the rock cakes we had been too polite to refuse, I thought that none of the lessons I'd had so far had given me as much to think about as tea with Mina. Had my grandmother collected that package just in time. I wondered where it was and was it in a safe place or not? And did Mina know something about Triphorm that she didn't want to tell me? Grandmother Sarabi was not going to be kept in the dark about that, so that afternoon, I wrote to her.

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**So, that was chapter 8. I hope you enjoyed it. I will be updating again soon, and I do not know which chapter it will be in, but what I do know is that you will learn about how Kiara thought about Sian, Chris and Chrissie during her first few months at Dragon Mort. It seemed a lot easier for me to do it then, because she knows them a bit more, and it makes logical sense to write about them when she knows them for a few months, rather than a few days. Anyhoo, please R&amp;R, and I will update again soon, like I said. Oh, and I also hope that you like how this is going so far.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

**The Midnight Duel **

_My dear Grandmother Sarabi, _

_I'm having some trouble at school that I would like you to help me with. First of all I have a problem with a teacher called Professor Triphorm. She hates me and no one will tell me why and I was hoping that you might tell me why she hates me, because during Potions class she asked me questions which I didn't know the answer to and she took points off me because one of my classmates screwed up and I somehow got the blame for it. Also I saw it in the paper that there had been a break-in at Fauntrotts and I know that we were there that day and that you gave whatever was in that vault to Mina to take care of. I'm wondering if it's in a safe place and highly guarded? Can you let me know on both these points as soon as possible please? _

_Love you lots,_

_Kiara _

I had to wait a few days, but she got back to me at breakfast on Tuesday. This is what she wrote:

_My dearest Kiara,_

_I will discuss the break-in at Fauntrotts in a moment, but first to this Professor Triphorm of yours. In life, we all face people who we do not like to work with, but what you have to understand is the fact that we have to put up with them, because things like this will happen throughout your whole life, my darling. I know it's hard to hear, but it's true. And as to why she hates you, I have no idea why, but try not to worry, child, you have me to keep in touch with. _

_As to the break-in at Fauntrotts, don't worry; I took what the thieves were after and gave it to Mina as soon as you were sound asleep. And yes, it _is_ in a safe place and highly guarded, so don't you fret about that. I can't tell you anything else on that subject, Kiara, because I'm not allowed. _

_Keep in touch with what's going on at the school; I still want to hear what you're getting up to. _

_Love you more,_

_Grandmother Sarabi _

I was relieved about the advice she gave me about Triphorm and a little disappointed that she couldn't tell me anything more about the grubby little package that she took out of Fauntrotts, but that's life for you; you can't get everything you want in it. Anyway, back to the story and on with this chapter.

I had never believed that I would meet a girl I hated more than Carol, but that was before I had met Dani Malty. Still, we first-year Lion-Hearts only had Potions with the Snake Eyes, so we didn't have to put up with Malty much. Or at least we thought we did, until we saw a notice pined up in the Lion-Heart common room which made us all groan. Flying lessons were starting on Thursday – Lion-Heart and Snake-Eyes were learning together.

"Typical," I said darkly. "Just what I always wanted. To make a fool of myself on a broomstick in front of Malty."

I had been looking forward to fly more than anything else too.

"You don't know you'll make a fool of yourself," said Chrissie reasonably. "Anyway, I know Malty's always going on about how good she is at Quidditch, but I bet that's all talk."

Malty certainly did talk about flying a lot. She complained loudly about first-years never getting in the house Quidditch teams and told long, boastful stories which always seemed to end with her narrowly escaping Muggles in helicopters. She wasn't the only one, though; the way Zara Finn told it, she'd spent most of her life on a broomstick. Even Chris and Chrissie would tell anyone who would listen about the time they'd almost banged into a plane on brooms their parents had bought them. Everyone from wizarding families talked about Quidditch constantly. Chrissie had already had an argument with Dena Wright, who was in our year, about netball. Chrissie couldn't see what was exciting about a game with only one ball where no one was allowed to fly.

Nikita had never been on a broomstick in her life, because her grandfather had never let her near one. Privately, I felt he'd had a good reason, because Nikita had accidents enough with both feet on the ground, so you can imagine what she would be like with both her feet off the ground and her having to cling on for dear life on to a long piece of wood.

Sian was almost as nervous as Nikita was. This was something you couldn't learn out of a book – not that she hadn't tried, though. At breakfast on Thursday she bored us all stupid with flying tips she'd got out of a library book called _Quidditch through the Ages_. Me, Chris and Chrissie were ignoring what she said, because we couldn't bear to listen to her voice go on and on and on. We were very pleased when Sian's lecture was interrupted by the arrival of the post.

I hadn't had any letters since the one from my grandmother a few days ago, something Malty picked up on quickly. Malty's eagle owl was always bringing her packages from home, which she always opened gloatingly at the Snake-Eyes table. But today was different, for a few owls brought baskets of sweets for the Dawsons.

"OK, let's see here," said Sian, putting down her book and looking at the sweets and passing them to each member of her family; and then I got a shock when she placed one right in front of me. I looked at her, surprised, and she explained to me, "Oh, I told Dad to send you one as well, seeing as I know you don't get much from home. You'll find that I show a compassionate side every once in a while, you know."

"So, basically, when you feel like it?" I said to her.

"Pretty much," said Sian, looking over her sweets.

I saw Malty looking up at our table, so I waved my basket of sweets at her. Her look of shock soon turned into one of rage. She glared at me until she saw something at the Lion-Heart table. I followed Malty's eyes and saw her looking at Nikita, for she had received something from her granddad; he always knew that Nikita forgot to take something with her. She opened it excitedly and showed everyone at the Lion-Heart table a glass ball the size of a large marble, which was full of white smoke. I went down to see what Nikita had got, seeing as I was worried about what Malty might do to Nikita.

"Hey Nikita," I said. "What have you got now?"

"This is a Remembrall, Kiara!" she explained. "Granddad knows I forget things – this tells you if there's something you've forgotten to do. Look, you hold it tight like this and if it turns red – oh …" Her face fell, because the Remembrall had suddenly glowed scarlet, "… you've forgotten something …"

Nikita was trying to remember what it was she had forgotten, when – just as I suspected – Malty came up and to Nikita and snatched the Remembrall out of her hand.

I turned to face Malty, but Professor Darbus, who could spot trouble quicker than any teacher in the school, was there in a flash.

"What's going on?"

"Malty's got my Remembrall, Professor."

Scowling, Malty quickly dropped the Remembrall back on the table.

"Just looking," she said, and she went back to the Snake-Eyes table where Crate, Gabber and Rae-Bradley were waiting for her.

At three-thirty that afternoon, Chris, Chrissie, myself and the other Lion-Hearts hurried down the front steps into the grounds for our first flying lesson. It was a clear, breezy day and the grass rippled under our feet as we marched down the sloping lawns towards a smooth lawn on the opposite side of the grounds to the Black Forest, whose trees were swaying darkly in the distance.

The Snake-Eyes were already there, and so were twenty broomsticks lying in neat lines on the ground. I had heard some older students talking the night before my first flying lesson about the school brooms, complaining that some of them started to vibrate if you flew too high, or always flew slightly to the left.

Our teacher, Sir Turner, arrived. He had short, grey hair and brown eyes like an eagle.

"Well, what are you all waiting for?" he barked. "Everyone stand by a broomstick. Come on, hurry up."

I glanced down at my broom. It was old and some of the twigs stood out at odd angles.

"Stick your right hand over your broom," called Sir Turner at the front, "and say, "Up!""

"UP!" everyone shouted.

I was surprised to see that my broom jumped into my hand at once, but mine was one of the few that did. Sian's had simply rolled over on the ground and Nikita's hadn't moved at all. Perhaps brooms, like horses, could tell when you were afraid, I thought; there was a quaver in Nikita's voice that said only too clearly that she wanted to keep both her feet on the ground.

Sir Turner then showed us how to mount our brooms without sliding off the end, and walked up and down the rows, correcting our grips. Me, Chris and Chrissie were delighted when he told Malty that she had been doing t wrong for years.

"Now, when I blow my whistle, you kick off from the ground, hard," said Sir Turner. "Keep your brooms steady, rise a few feet and then lean forward slightly to come straight back down. On my whistle – three – two –"

But Nikita, nervous, jumpy and frightened of being left on the ground, pushed off hard before the whistle had touched Sir Turner's lips.

"Come back, girl!" he shouted, but Nikita was rising straight up like a cork shot out of a bottle – twelve feet – twenty feet. I saw her scared white face look down at the ground falling away, saw her gasp, slip sideways off the broom and –

WHAM – a thud and a nasty crack and Nikita lay, face down, on the grass in a heap. Her broomstick was still rising higher and higher and started to drift off towards the Black Forest and out of sight.

Sir Turner was bending over Nikita, his face as white as hers.

"Broken wrist," I heard him mutter. "Come on, girl – it's all right, up you get."

He turned to face the rest of us.

"None of you is to move whilst I take this girl to the hospital wing! If I see a single broom in the air when I get back the one riding it will be out of Dragon Mort before they can say "Quidditch". Come on, dear."

Nikita, her face tear-strained, clutching her wrist, hobbled off with Sir Turner, who had his arm around her.

No sooner were they out of earshot than Malty burst into laughter.

"Did you see her face, the great lump?"

The other Snake-Eyes joined in.

"Shut up, Malty," snapped Perry Party.

"Ooh, sticking up for Bore?" said Percy Parker, a hard-faced Snake-Eyes boy. "Never thought _you'd_ like fat little cry babies, Perry."

"Look!" said Malty, darting forward and snatching something out of the grass. "It's that stupid thing Bore's Granddad sent her."

The Remembrall glittered in the sun as she held it up.

"Give that here, Malty," I said quietly. Everyone stopped talking to watch.

Malty smiled nastily.

"I think I'll leave it somewhere for Malty to find – how about – on the roof?"

"Give it _here_!" I yelled, but Malty had leapt on to her broomstick and had taken off. She hadn't been lying, she _could_ fly well – hovering level with the topmost branches of an oak she called, "Come and get it, Pride-Lander!"

I grabbed my broom.

"_No!"_ shouted Sian. "Sir Turner told us not to move – you'll get us all into trouble."

I ignored her. Blood was pounding in my ears. I mounted the broom and kicked hard against the ground and up, up I soared, the air rushing through my hair and my uniform whipped out behind me – and in a rush of fierce joy I realised I'd found something I could do without being taught – this was easy, this was _wonderful_. I pulled my broomstick up a little to take it even higher and I heard screams and gasps from boys back on the ground and admiring whoops from Chris and Chrissie.

I turned my broomstick sharply to face Malty in mid-air. Malty looked stunned.

"Give it here," I called, "or I'll knock you off your broom!"

"Oh, yeah?" said Malty, trying to sneer, but looking worried.

I knew back then, somehow, what to do. I leant forward and grasped the broom tightly in both hands and it shot towards Malty like a javelin. Malty only just got out of the way in time; I made a sharp about turn and held the broom steady. A few people below were clapping.

"No Crate, Gabber or Rae-Bradley up here to save your neck, Malty," I called.

The same thought seemed to have struck Malty.

"Catch it if you can, then!" she shouted, and she threw the glass ball high into the air and streaked back towards the ground.

I saw, as though in slow motion, the ball rise up in the air and then start to fall. I leant forward and pointed my broom handle down – next second I was gathering speed in a steep dive, racing the ball – wind whistled in my ears, mingled with the screams of people watching – I stretched out my hand – a foot from the ground I caught it, just in time to pull my broom straight, and I toppled gently on to the grass with the Remembrall clutched safely in my fist. I then got up and ran towards the others, holding the Remembrall up high for everyone to see, and I saw most of them – Sian included – running up to me and cheering. When they reached me they patted me on the back and said things like:

"Well done, Kiara!"

"Well done!"

"That was wicked, Kiara!"

My heart was as light as air and I was grinning from ear to ear. I was thrilled at what I had just done, until –

"KIARA PRIDE-LANDER!"

My heart sank faster than I'd just dived in that moment and the grin vanished from my face. Professor Darbus was running towards us. I looked at her, trembling all over.

"_Never_ – in all my time at Dragon Mort –"

Professor Darbus was almost speechless with shock, and her glasses flashed furiously, "– how _dare _ you – might have broken your neck – "

"It wasn't her fault, Professor – "

"Be quiet, Mr Party – "

"But Malty – "

"Professor, please," said Sian, before anyone could say anything else. She then ran to Professor Darbus and it looked like she was explaining everything that had happened there to her. Professor Darbus then lifted up her head and looked at Sian and then back at me.

"It looks like you weren't entirely responsible for this, Pride-Lander, not that it makes a difference, mind," Professor Darbus said to me. "Pride-Lander, come with me. Eldest Dawson girl, you come too."

"Me, Professor? Why me?" Sian gasped. "I didn't do anything wrong here!"

"I am fully aware of that, Miss Dawson, but I still want you to come. Now follow me."

"Why do I always open my big mouth in these situations?" muttered Sian under her breath as me and her followed Darbus.

I caught sight of Malty, Crate, Gabber and Rae-Bradley's triumphant faces as I left, walking numbly beside Sian in Professor Dabus' wake as she strode towards the castle. I had no idea of what was going through Sian's head, but at that moment I thought I was going to be expelled, I just knew it. Professor Darbus was sweeping along without even looking at us; me and Sian had to jog to keep up. Now I'd done it. I hadn't even lasted two weeks. I thought that I would have been packing my bags in ten minutes. I thought of what my grandmothers were going to say when they found out.

Up the front steps, up the marble staircase inside, and still Professor Darbus didn't say a word to us. She wrenched open doors and marched along corridors with me and Sian mumbling along miserably behind her. Maybe she was taking us to Crighton. I thought of Mina, expelled but allowed to stay on as gamekeeper. Perhaps I could be Mina's assistant. My stomach twisted as I thought of Chris, Chrissie and the others becoming witches and wizards whilst I was stumbling around the grounds, carrying Mina's bag.

Professor Darbus stopped outside a classroom. She opened the door and poked her head inside.

"Excuse me, Professor Winds, could I borrow Cane for a moment please?"

Cane? I thought, bewildered; was Cane a piece of wood she was going to use on me? I looked at Sian for help and I saw that she was smiling.

"What are you smiling about?" I asked her, twisting my hands nervously.

"Don't be so scared, kid," she said, still smiling. "This is going to be good for you, very good indeed."

"Really?"

"Yeah, you're good, don't worry about it," Sian said, looking at the door. I looked at the door too, and as I did, Professor Darbus came back out followed by Cane, who actually turned out to be a person, a tall, strong-looking fifth-year girl who came out of Winds' class looking confused.

"Follow me, you three," said Professor Darbus, and we marched up the corridor, Cane looking curiously at me.

"In here."

Professor Darbus pointed us into a classroom which was empty except for Weeves, who was busy writing rude words on the blackboard.

"Out, Weeves!" she barked. Weeves threw the chalk into a bin, which clanged loudly, and she swooped out cursing. Professor Darbus slammed the door behind her and turned to face me, Sian and Cane.

"Pride-Lander this is Olivia Cane. Cane – I've found you a Seeker."

Cane's expression changed from puzzlement to delight.

"Are you serious, Professor?"

"Absolutely," said Professor Darbus crisply. "This girl's a natural. I've never seen anything like it. Was that your first time on a broomstick, Pride-Lander?"

I nodded silently. At that moment I didn't have a clue what was going on, but I didn't seem to be being expelled, and some of the feeling seemed to be coming back to my legs. I looked at Sian and she was grinning at me.

"She caught that thing in her hand after a fifty-foot dive," Professor Darbus told Cane. "Didn't even scratch myself. Kat Fang couldn't have done that."

Cane was now looking as if all her dreams had come true at once.

"Ever seen a game of Quidditch, Pride-Lander?" she asked excitedly.

"Cane's captain of the Lion-Heart team," Professor Darbus explained.

"She's just the build for a Seeker, too," said Cane, now walking around me and staring at me. "Light – speedy – we'll have to get her a decent broom, Professor – a Scoot-Zoomer Two Thousand or a Brush Stream Seven, I'd say."

"I shall speak to Professor Crighton and see if we can't bend the first-year rule. Heaven knows, we need a better team than last year. _Flattened_ in the last match by Snake-Eyes, I couldn't look Tiana Triphorm in the face for weeks …"

At that moment, someone knocked on the door. Professor Darbus went to see who it was, and to my surprise, Professor Crighton followed by Chris and Chrissie walked in, Crighton smiling at Sian and me, Chris and Chrissie looking worried.

"We found Ma as we were walking back from flying practise," said Chris, looking apologetically at Professor Darbus. "Sorry for interrupting you, Miss D, but we had to tell her about what was going on and then she told me and Chrissie to follow her to find you."

"Yeah, sorry Miss D," said Chrissie apologetically too.

"Quite all right," said Professor Darbus, waving a hand impatiently to wave those comments away. "So Headmistress, what do you want?"

"I want to know what's happening with Kiara, Deidre, if that's all right?" said Crighton.

"Well Susan, right now I'm making her Seeker of the Lion-Heart Quidditch team."

Crighton, Chris and Chrissie gasped and smiled at me.

"Really?" said Chris.

"That's great!" said Chrissie.

"Wonderful, Kiara!" said Crighton. "I always knew you'd do well here!"

"Thank you, ma'am," I said, starting to breathe again – at least, that's what it felt like at the time.

"Actually, I'm glad you're here, Susan," said Professor Darbus. "You see, Pride-Lander will need a good broom and you know the rule about first-years not being allowed to bring their own brooms into the school."

"Ah, yes, that is true," said Crighton, nodding. "But we'll sort something out, I'm sure," Crighton said, smiling at me.

Sian dashed to her mother's side and whispered something in her ear. Her mother smiled and nodded at her. Sian then went running out of the room and went off down the corridor. We waited a few minutes and then we heard her coming back with a book in her hand. She rifled through the book and then found what she was looking for.

"Ah, here we are," she said, looking at a certain page in the book. "Nala Home, Seeker. Simba Pride-Lander, Chaser. You see," Sian said, passing the book over to me so that I could have a look, "their Quidditch blood runs through you."

The picture of my parents was when they were at Dragon Mort in their teens at Dragon Mort wearing their Quidditch uniforms, their arms around each other and smiling at me; it must have been around the time they started dating. It was a good picture because I never saw a picture of my parents that young before. I looked up at Sian and smiled at her as she smiled at me. "Thanks," I said to her.

"Anytime, sweety," she said, rubbing my shoulder.

Sian then turned to her mother and whispered something else in her ear. Sian's mother nodded and then straightened up and said to me, "Kiara, do you have any pictures of your parents when they were very young?"

"No, ma'am, I don't."

"Well then, have that one," Crighton said, pointing to the picture in the book.

"Are you sure about that, ma'am?" I asked her uncertainly.

"Kiara, you've had permission from the headmistress of the school to take that picture of your parents out of that book. What more do you want?" said Sian. I chuckled and so did she. And with that, I took the picture out of the book and pocketed it in my pocket.

"Thank you again, ma'am, for your kindness," I said to Crighton.

"Your welcome, Kiara," Crighton said to me.

Professor Darbus then coughed and I looked at her; she was peering sternly at me over her glasses.

"I want to hear you're training hard, Pride-Lander, or I may change my mind about punishing you."

Then she suddenly smiled.

"Your parents will indeed be proud of you when they hear about this, Pride-Lander," she said. "They were excellent Quidditch players themselves."

"I still can't believe it."

0000

It was dinner time. I had just finished telling Chris and Chrissie what had happened when me and Sian had left the grounds with Professor Darbus and after Chris, Chrissie and Crighton had left me, Sian, Cane and Professor Darbus alone again. Chris and Chrissie both had a piece of steak-and-kidney pie halfway to their mouths, but they'd forgotten all about the food they were eating.

"_Seeker?_" Chrissie said. "But first-years _never_ – you must be the youngest house player in about – "

" – thirteen years," I said, shovelling pie into my mouth. I felt particularly hungry after the excitement of the afternoon. "According to Darbus, 'cause Harry Potter became a Seeker in his first year at Hogwarts."

Chris and Chrissie were so amazed, so impressed, they just sat and gaped at me.

"I start training next week," I said. "Only don't tell anyone, Cane wants to keep it a secret."

Just the two dark shadows fell over our table; I looked up and saw the two girls Crighton had looked at during the start-of-term feast.

"Hey, well done, Kiara," one of them said. "Cane just told us."

"Oh, Kiara, these are mine, Chris and Chrissie's cousins, the Fang twins," said Sian.

"Good to see miss goodie-goodie-two-shoes is still with us," said the other twin, and both of them laughed. Sian gave a fake laugh then went back to eating.

"Anyway, I'm Tanya, and this is Geri," said Tanya, pointing to her twin. "We're on the team too – Beaters."

"I tell you, we're going to win that Quidditch Cup for sure this year," said Geri. "We haven't won since Kat left, but this year's team is going to be brilliant. You must be good, Kiara, Cane was almost skipping when she told us."

"Anyway, we've got to go, Leah Jones reckons she's found a new secret passageway out of the school."

"Bet it's that one behind the statue of Gina the Smarmy we found in our first week. See you."

Tanya and Geri had hardly disappeared when someone far less welcome turned up: Malty, flanked by Crate, Gabber and Rae-Bradley.

"Having a last meal, Pride-Lander? When are you taking one of the subs back to your grandmothers?"

"You're a lot braver now you're back on the ground and you've got your little friends with you," I said coolly. There was of course nothing little about Crate, Gabber or Rae-Bradley, but as the High Table was full of teachers, there was nothing any of them could do except crack their knuckles and scowl.

"I'd take you on any time on my own," said Malty. "Tonight, if you want. Wizard's duel. Wands only – no contact. What's the matter? Never heard of a wizard's duel before, I suppose?"

"Of course she has," said Chrissie, wheeling round. "I'm her second, who's yours?"

"Keziah," said Malty, without even turning to her cousin. "Midnight all right? We'll meet you in the trophy room, that's always unlocked."

When Malty had gone, me and Chrissie looked at each other.

"What _is_ a wizard's duel?" I said. "And what do you mean, you're my second?"

"Well, a second's only there to take over if you die," said Chris casually, as he and Chrissie got started at last on their cold pies. Catching the look on my face, he added quickly, "but people only die in proper duels, you know, with real wizards. The most you and Malty'll be able to do is send sparks at each other. Neither of you knows enough magic to do any real damage. I bet she expected you to refuse, anyway."

"And what if I wave my wand and nothing happens?"

"Throw it away and punch her on the nose," Chrissie suggested.

"Excuse me."

The three of us looked at Sian who had spoken.

"Can't I eat without your voice buzzing down my ear?" said Chrissie.

Sian ignored her twin sister and spoke to me.

"I couldn't help overhearing what you and Malty were saying –"

"Bet you could," Chris muttered."

" – and you _mustn't_ go wandering around the school at night, think of the points you'll lose for Lion-Heart if you're caught, and you're bound to be. It's really very selfish of you."

"Pardon me for being rude Sian, but it really is none of your business," I said.

"Yeah, so keep your big nose out, sister," said Chris.

"Goodbye," said Chrissie.

All the same, it wasn't what you'd call a perfect end to the day, I thought, as I lay awake much later listening to the perfect stillness of the night. None of us had seen Nikita return from the hospital wing yet and Chris and Chrissie had spent all evening giving me advice such as "If she tries to curse you, you'd better dodge it, because I can't remember how to block them". There was a very good chance we were going to get caught by Matchstick or Mrs Robbs, and I felt like I was pushing my luck, breaking another school rule in the same day. On the other hand, Malty's sneering face kept looming out of the darkness – this was my big chance to beat Malty, face to face. I couldn't afford to miss the chance, not a bit.

"Half past eleven," Chrissie muttered at last. "We'd better go."

We put on our dressing-gowns, picked up our wands and crept across the tower room, down the spiral staircase and into the Lion-Heart common room. Chris was already there in his dressing-gown, waiting for us by the portrait hole. A few embers were still glowing in the fireplace, turning all the armchairs into hunched black shadows. Me and Chrissie had almost reached Chris when a voice spoke from the chair nearest to us: "I can't believe you're going to do this, Kiara."

A lamp flickered on. It was Sian, wearing a blue dressing-gown and a frown.

"_You!"_ said Chrissie furiously. "Go back to bed!"

"I almost told our cousin," Sian snapped. "Perdita – she's a Prefect, she'd put a stop to this."

At that moment, I couldn't believe that one person could be so interfering."

"Come on," I said to Chris and Chrissie. I pushed open the portrait of the Fat Lord and climbed through the hole.

Sian wasn't going to give up that easily though. She followed Chrissie through the portrait hole, hissing at us like an angry snake.

"Don't you _care_ about Lion-Heart, do you _only_ care about yourselves, _I _ don't want Snake-Eyes to win the House Cup and you'll lose all the points I got from Professor Darbus for knowing about Switching Spells."

"Go away."

"All right, but I warned you, you just remember what I said when you're on the subs home tomorrow, you're so careless that you don't even realise that I just want what's best for –"

For what, we didn't find out. Sian had turned to the portrait of the Fat Lord to get back inside and found herself facing an empty painting. The Fat Lord had gone on a night-time visit and Sian was locked out of Lion-Heart Tower.

"Now what am I going to do?" she asked shrilly.

"That's your problem," said Chris. "We've got to go, we're going to be late."

We hadn't even reached the end of the corridor when Sian caught up with us.

"I'm coming with you," she said.

"You are _not_."

"D'you think I'm going to stand out here and wait for Matchstick to catch me? If he finds all four of us I'll tell him the truth, that I was trying to stop you and you can back me up."

"You've got some nerve – " said Chrissie loudly.

"Shut up, the three of you!" I said sharply. "I heard something."

"Mrs Robbs?" breathed Chrissie, squinting through the dark.

It wasn't Mrs Robbs. It was Nikita. She was curled up on the floor, fast asleep, but jerked suddenly awake as we crept nearer.

"Thank goodness you found me! I've been out here for hours. I couldn't remember the new password to get into bed."

"Keep your voice down, Nikita. The password's "Pig snout" but it won't help you now, the Fat Lord's gone off somewhere."

"How's your arm?" I said.

"Fine," said Nikita, showing us. "Matron mended it in about a minute."

"Good – well, look, Nikita, we've got to be somewhere, we'll see you later – "

"Don't leave me!" said Nikita, scrambling to her feet. "I don't want to stay here alone, the Bloody Baroness' been past twice already."

Chris looked at his watch and then glared furiously at Sian and Nikita.

"If either of you get us caught, I'll never rest until I've learnt that Curse of the Bogies Quarrel told us about and used it on you."

Sian opened her mouth, perhaps to tell Chris exactly how to use the Curse of the Bogies, but I hissed at her to be quiet and beckoned them all forward.

We flitted along the corridors striped with bars of moonlight from the high windows. At every turn I expected to run into Match or Mrs Robbs, but we were lucky. We sped up a staircase to the third floor and tiptoed towards the trophy room.

Malty and Rae-Bradley weren't there yet. Chris only came along with me and Chrissie to keep an eye on us. The crystal trophy cases glimmered where the moonlight caught them. Cups, shields, plates and statues winked silver and gold in the darkness. We edged along the walls, keeping our eyes on the doors at either end of the room. I took out my wand in case Malty leapt in and started at once. The minute's crept by.

"She's late, maybe she's chickened out," Chrissie whispered.

Then a noise in the next room made us jump. I had only just raised my wand when we heard someone speak – and it wasn't Malty.

"Sniff around, my sweet, they might be lurking in a corner."

It was Matchstick speaking to Mrs Robbs. Horror-struck, I waved madly at the other four to follow me as quickly as possible; we scurried silently towards the door away from Match's voice. Nikita's robes had barely whipped round the corner when we heard Match enter the trophy room.

"They're in here somewhere," we heard him mutter, "probably hiding."

"This way!" I mouthed to the others and, petrified, we began to creep down a long gallery full of suits of armour. We could hear Match getting nearer. Nikita suddenly let out a frightened squeak and broke into a run – she tripped, grabbed Chrissie around the waist and the pair of them and toppled right into a suit of armour.

The clanging and crashing were enough to wake the whole castle.

"RUN!" I yelled and the five of us sprinted down the gallery, not looking back to see whether Match was following – we swung around the doorpost and galloped down one corridor then another, me in the lead with no idea where we were or where we were going. We ripped through a tapestry and found ourselves in a hidden passageway, hurtled along it and came out near the Charms classroom, which we knew was miles from the trophy room.

"I think we've lost him," I panted, leaning against the cold wall and wiping my forehead. Nikita was bent double, wheezing and spluttering.

"I – _told_ – you," Sian gasped, clutching at the stitch in her chest. "I – told – you."

"We've got to get back to Lion-Heart Tower," said Chrissie, "quickly as possible."

"Malty tricked you," Sian said to me. "You realise that, don't you? She was never going to meet you – Match knew someone was going to be in the trophy room, Malty must have tipped her off."

I thought she was probably right, but I wasn't going to tell her that then, because I found her very annoying at the time.

"Let's go."

It wasn't going to be that simple. We hadn't gone more than a dozen paces when a doorknob rattled and something came shooting out of a classroom door in front of us.

It was Weeves. She caught us and gave a squeal of delight.

"Shut up, Weeves – please – you'll get us thrown out."

Weeves cackled.

"Wandering around at midnight, ickle firsties? Tut, tut, tut. Naughty, naughty, you'll get caughty."

"Not if you don't give us away, Weeves, please."

"Should tell Match, I should," said Weeves in a saintly voice, but her eyes gleamed wickedly. "It's for your own god, you know."

"Get out of the way," snapped Chrissie, taking a swipe at Weeves – this was a big mistake.

"STUDENTS OUT OF BED!" Weeves bellowed. "STUDENTS OUT BED DOWN THE CHARMS CORRIDOR!"

Ducking under Weeves we ran for our lives, right to the end of the corridor, where we slammed into a door – and it was locked.

"This is it!" Chrissie moaned, as we pushed hopelessly at the door. "Our lives are over!"

"We're doomed and we're done for!" moaned Chris.

We could hear footsteps, Match running as fast as he could towards Weeves' shouts.

"Oh, move over," Sian snarled. She grabbed my wand and before she did anything, she turned to us and, quickly forgetting that Match was close by, she practically yelled, "HONESTLY, YOU FOUR ARE COMPLETELY USELESS!", before she turned to the door, tapped the lock and whispered, _"Alohomora!"_

The lock clicked and the door swung open – we piled through it, shut it quickly and pressed our ears against it, listening.

"Which way did they go, Weeves?" Match was saying. "Quick, tell me."

"Say "please"."

"Don't mess me about, Weeves, now_ where did they go_?"

"Shan't say nothing if you don't say please," said Weeves in her sing-song voice.

"All right – _please_."

"NOTHING! Ha haaa! Told you I wouldn't say nothing if you don't say please! Ha ha! Haaaaaa!" And w heard the sound of Weeves whooshing away and Match cursing in rage.

"He thinks this door is locked," I whispered. "I think we'll be OK – get _off_, Nikita!" For Nikita had been tugging on the sleeve of my dressing-gown for the last minute. _"What?"_

I turned around – and saw, quite clearly, what. For a moment there, I thought I'd walked into a nightmare – this was too much, on top of everything that had happened so far.

We weren't in a room, as I had supposed. We were in a corridor. The forbidden corridor on the third floor to be precise. And now we knew why it was forbidden, and so will you also.

We were looking straight into the eyes of a monstrous lion, a lion which filled the whole space between ceiling and floor. It had three heads, whose three gigantic manes, with long, tatty hair, were drooping below their eyes . Three pairs of rolling mad eyes; three noses, twitching and quivering in our direction; three drooling mouths, saliva hanging in slippery ropes from yellowish fangs.

It was standing quite still, all six eyes staring at us, and I knew that the only reason we weren't already dead was that our sudden appearance had taken it by surprise, but it was quickly getting over that, there was no mistaking what those thunderous growls meant.

I groped for the doorknob – between Match and death, I'd have taken Match any day.

We fell backwards – I slammed the door shut, and we ran, almost flew in fact, back down the corridor. Match must have hurried off to look for us somewhere else because we didn't see him anywhere, but we hardly cared – all we wanted to do at that moment was to put as much space as possible between us and that monster. We didn't stop running until we reached the portrait of the Fat Lord on the seventh floor.

"Where on earth have you all been?" he asked, looking at our dressing-gowns hanging off our shoulders and our flushed, sweaty faces.

"Never mind that – pig snout, pig snout," I panted, and the portrait swung forward. We scrambled into the common room and collapsed, trembling into armchairs.

It was a while before any of us said anything. Nikita, indeed, looked as if she'd never speak again.

"What do they think they're doing, keeping a thing like that locked up in a school," said Chrissie finally. "If any cat needs exercise, that one does."

Sian had – unfortunately – got both her breath and her bad temper back again.

"You don't use your eyes, any of you, do you?" she snapped. "Didn't you at least see what it was _standing_ on?"

"The floor?" I suggested.

"Yeah, and besides that, sister," said Chris, "I wasn't looking at its feet, I was more preoccupied with its heads. Or maybe you didn't notice, there were _three_ of them."

"No, _not_ the floor. It was standing on a trapdoor, which means that it hasn't been put there by accident. It's guarding something."

"Guarding something?" I said.

"That's right. Now, of the four of you don't mind, I'm going to bed, before any of you get another clever idea to get us all killed, or worse _expelled_. Goodnight!" She then got up, turned on her heel and marched up the stairs to the girls' dormitories.

Chrissie stared after her open mouthed.

"No, we don't mind," she said. "You'd think we dragged her along, wouldn't you?"

But Sian had given me something else to think about as I climbed into bed. The cat was guarding something … What was it that Grandmother Sarabi said? Fauntrotts was the best place in the world for something you wanted to hide – except perhaps Dragon Mort.

It looked as though I had found out where the grubby little package from the mysterious vault was. And again, my grandmother Sarabi was going to hear about it.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

**Hallowe'en**

Malty couldn't believe her eyes when she saw that Chris, Chrissie and I were still at Dragon Mort the next day, looking tired but perfectly cheerful. Indeed, by the next morning Chris, Chrissie and I thought that meeting the three-headed cat had been an excellent adventure and at that time we were quite keen to have another one. In the meantime, I filled Chris and Chrissie in about the package that seemed to have been moved from Fauntrotts to Dragon Mort, and we spent a lot of time wondering what could possibly need such heavy protection.

"It's either really valuable," said Chris.

"Or really dangerous," said Chrissie.

"Or both," said I.

But all we knew for sure about the object was that it was about two inches long, we didn't have much chance of guessing what it was without further clues.

Neither Nikita nor Sian showed the slightest interest in what lay underneath the cat and the trapdoor. All Nikita cared about was never going near the cat again.

And as for Sian, well, she was refusing to speak to Chris, Chrissie and I, but she was such a bossy know-it-all that we saw this as an added bonus. All we really wanted after this was a way to get back at Malty, and to our delight, such a thing arrived with the post a week later.

Oh, I did write to Grandmother Sarabi about the package – I didn't have the heart to tell her about the cat because that would have scared her out of her wits. I can't remember what I wrote to her, but I do have her reply right here. Her hand was shaky (I could tell by how scruffy it was) and here is what she wrote:

_Dearest Kiara,_

_I know where it is hidden as well as you do, but you must keep it secret from everyone else, for Crighton's sake and mine. Not only must you keep the information to yourself but you must not get too involved in this. Keep out of this and concentrate on your schoolwork like I want you to and leave this to people who know what they are doing. Keep in touch._

_Love you lots,_

_Grandmother Sarabi_

_P.S.: Well done on making the Lion-Heart Quidditch team! Of course I thought that you would be on it in a couple more years but I'm happy for you, and I know that your parents will be too when they hear about this. Love you. _

Short, sweet and to the point, just like my grandmother likes to write and talk when there was something important which she didn't want me to know about.

Anyhoo, as the owls flooded into the Great Hall as usual, everyone's attention was caught by a long thin package carried by six large screech owls. I was just as interested as everyone else to see what was in this large parcel and was amazed when the owls soared down and dropped it right in front of me, knocking my bacon to the floor. They had hardly fluttered out of the way when another owl dropped a letter on top of the parcel.

I ripped open the letter first, which was lucky, because it said:

_DO NOT OPEN THE PARCEL AT THE TABLE._

_It contains your new Scoot-Zoomer Two Thousand,_

_but I don't want everybody knowing you've got a _

_broomstick or they'll all want one. Olivia Cane _

_will meet you tonight on the Quidditch pitch at _

_seven o'clock for your first training session. _

_Professor D. Darbus_

I had difficulty hiding my glee as I handed the note to Chris and Chrissie so that they could read it.

"A Scoot-Zoomer Two Thousand!" Chrissie moaned enviously. "I've never even _touched _one."

"Me neither!" said Chris.

We left the Hall quickly, wanting to unwrap the broomstick in private before our first lesson, but halfway across the Entrance Hall we found the way upstairs barred by Crate, Gabber and Rae-Bradley. Malty seized the package from me and felt it.

"That's a broomstick," she said, throwing it back to me with a mixture of jealousy and spite on her face. "You'll be for it this time, Pride-Lander, first-years aren't allowed them."

Chrissie couldn't resist the urge.

"It's not just any old broomstick," she said, "it's a Scoot-Zoomer Two Thousand. What did you say you've got at home, Malty, a Turn Two Sixty?" Chrissie grinned at me and Chris. "The Turns look flashy, but they're not in the same league as the Scoot-Zoomers."

"What would you know about it, Dawson, even though you have the money, you've never even touched one," Malty snapped back. "I suppose you have to ask your eldest sister to build one for you, twig by twig."

Before Chrissie could answer, Professor Winds appeared at Malty's elbow.

"Not arguing I hope girls – and boy?" she added, noticing Chris.

"Pride-Lander's been sent a broomstick, Professor," said Malty quickly.

"Yes, yes, that's right," said Professor Winds, beaming at me. "Professor Darbus told me all about the special circumstances, Pride-Lander. And what model is it?"

"A Scoot-Zoomer Two Thousand, ma'am," I said, fighting not to laugh at the look of horror on Malty's face. "And it's really thanks to Malty here that I've got it," I added.

Me, Chris and Chrissie headed upstairs, smothering our laughter at Malty's obvious rage and confusion.

"Well, it's true," I chortled as we reached the top of the marble staircase. "If she hadn't stolen Nikita's Remembrall I wouldn't be in the team …"

"Well done, Kiara," said a voice behind us. Sian was stomping up the stairs and beamed at me and the package I was holding.

"I thought you weren't speaking to us," said Chris.

"Yes, don't stop now," said Chrissie, "it's doing us so much good."

As Chris and Chrissie chortled at this, Sian glared at them and said, "You know, I'm really surprised at you two. I was merely going to congratulate Kiara for not only standing up for a friend – which, as you two both know -" she looked at Chris and Chrissie as she said this "- I have done – but also for making the Quidditch team. And at least have the decency to remember every now and then that _I _ am your eldest sister, so therefore you should have some respect towards me." She was stomping up the stairs with her nose in the air, when she turned on her heel and looked at us: "And by the way, sorry if I'm such a nuisance to the three of you. Just remember, if you need help with your homework, you'll be sorry you didn't have me around to help you out." then she turned round, nose in the air and huffed up the stairs.

I had a lot of trouble keeping my mind on lessons that day. It kept wandering up to the dormitory, where my new broomstick was lying under my bed, or straying off to the Quidditch pitch where I'd be learning to play that night. I bolted my dinner down that evening without even noticing what I was eating and then rushed upstairs with Chrissie to unwrap the Scoot-Zoomer Two Thousand at last.

"Wow," Chrissie sighed, as the broomstick rolled on to my bedspread.

Even I, who knew nothing about the different brooms, thought it looked wonderful. Sleek and shiny, with a pine handle, it had a long tail of neat, straight twigs and _Scoot-Zoomer Two Thousand _written in silver near the top.

As seven o'clock drew nearer, I left the castle and set off towards the Quidditch pitch in the dusk. I'd never been inside the Quidditch stadium before. Hundreds of seats were raised in stands around the pitch so that the spectators were high enough to see what was going on. At either end of the pitch were three golden poles with hoops on the end. They reminded me of the little plastic sticks Muggle children blew bubbles through, except that they were fifty feet high.

Too eager to fly again to wait for Cane, I mounted my broomstick and kicked off from the ground. What a feeling – I swooped in and out of the goalposts and then sped up and down the pitch. The Scoot-Zoomer Two Thousand turned wherever I wanted at my lightest touch.

Hey, Pride-Lander, come down!"

Olivia Cane had arrived. She was carrying a large wooden crate under her arm. I landed next to her.

"Very nice," said Cane, her eyes glinting. "I see what Darbus meant … you really are a natural. I'm just going to teach you the rules this evening, then you'll be joining team practice three times a week."

She opened the crate. Inside were four different sized balls.

"Right," said Cane. "Now, Quidditch is easy enough to understand, even if it isn't easy to play. There are seven players on each side; three Chasers, two Beaters, one Keeper and the Seeker, that's you," she said, pointing to me.

"Three Chasers, two Beaters, one Keeper and the Seeker," I repeated, as Cane took out a big red ball about the size of a football.

"This ball's called the Quaffle," said Cane. "The Chasers throw the Quaffle to each other and try to get it through one of the hoops to score a goal. Ten points every time the Quaffle goes through one of the hoops. Follow me?"

"The Chasers throw the Quaffle and put it through the hoops to score," I recited. "So – that's sort of like basketball on broomsticks with six hoops, isn't it?"

"What's basketball?" said Cane curiously.

"Never mind," I said quickly.

"Now to another player on each side who's called the Keeper – I'm the Keeper for Lion-Heart. I have to fly around our hoops and stop the other team from scoring."

"Three Chasers, one Keeper," I said, and I felt that I was getting it already, even though I hadn't played before. "And they play with the Quaffle. OK, got that. So what are they for?" I pointed at the three balls left inside the box.

"I'll show you now," said Cane. "Take this."

She handed me a small club, a bit like a rounders bat.

"I'm going to show you what the Bludgers do," Cane said. "These two are the Bludgers."

She showed me two identical balls, jet black and slightly smaller than the red Quaffle. I noticed that they seemed to be straining to escape the straps holding them inside the box.

"Stand back," Cane warned me. She bent down and freed one of the Bludgers.

At once, the black ball rose high in the air and then pelted straight at my face. I swung at it with the bat to stop it from breaking my nose and sent it zig-zagging away into the air – it zoomed around our heads and then shot at Cane, who dived on top of it and managed to pin it to the ground.

"See?" Cane panted, forcing the struggling Bludger back into the Crate and strapping it down safely. "The Bludgers rocket around trying to knock people off their brooms. That's why you have two Beaters on each team. The Fang twins are ours – it's their job to protect their side from the Bludgers and try and knock them towards the other team. So – think you've got all that?"

"Three Chasers try and score with the Quaffle; the Keeper guards the goalposts; the Beaters keep the Bludgers away from their team," I reeled off.

"Very good," said Cane.

"Er – have the Bludgers ever killed anyone?" I asked, hoping I sounded offhand.

"Never at Dragon Mort. We've had a couple of broken jaws but nothing worse than that. now, the last member of the team is the Seeker. That's you. And you don't have to worry about the Quaffle or the Bludgers – "

" – unless they crack my head open."

"Don't worry, the Fangs are more than a match for the Bludgers – I mean, they're like a pair of human Bludgers themselves."

Cane reached into the crate and took out the fourth and last ball. Compared with the Quaffle and the Bludgers, it was tiny, about the size of a large walnut. It was bright gold and had little fluttering silver wings.

"_This,"_ said Cane, "is the Golden Snitch, and it's the most important ball of the lot. It's very hard to catch because it's so fast and difficult to see. It's the Seeker's job to catch it. You've got to weave in and out of the Chasers, Beaters, Bludgers and Quaffle to get it before the other team's Seeker, because whichever Seeker catches the Snitch wins their team an extra hundred and fifty points, so they nearly always win. That's why Seekers get fouled so much. A game of Quidditch only ends when the Snitch is caught, so it can go on for ages – I think the record is three months, they had to keep bringing on substitutes so the players could get some sleep.

"Well, that's it – any questions?"

I shook my head. I understood what I had to do all right, it was doing it that was going to be the problem.

"We won't practise with the Snitch yet," said Cane, carefully shutting it back inside the crate. "It's too dark, we might lose it. Let's try you out with a few of these."

She pulled a bag of ordinary golf balls out of her pocket, and a few minutes later, she and I were up in the air, Cane throwing the golf balls as hard as she could in every direction for me to catch.

I didn't miss a single one and Cane was delighted. After half an hour, night had really fallen and we couldn't carry on.

"That Quidditch Cup'll have our name on it this year," said Cane happily as we trudged back up to the castle. "I wouldn't be surprised if you turned out better than Kat Fang, and she could have played for England if she hadn't gone off chasing dragons."

0000

Perhaps it was because I was now so busy, what with Quidditch practice three evenings a week on top of all my homework, but I could hardly believe it when I realised that I had been at Dragon Mort two months. Even though I loved the village and the cottage where my grandmothers and I lived, the castle was, in a weird way, becoming like a second home to me. My lessons, too, were becoming far more interesting now that we had mastered the basics.

The people that I had met were quite interesting, too. Sure, the staring was becoming wearisome to me, but it quickly stopped after I started to talk to them. I was becoming friends with a lot of people from different houses. Some, like Jack Simms, Callum Lunn, Sarah and Chris Rimmer and Oliver Bryce were all right. They were fun and said some quite odd stuff, and because of this, they were loners, which only drew me more closer to them. Then you had people like Laura Garnett and Steph Heredia, who were very giggly, childish and quite stupid, who I stayed away from, for they were not to my liking, at all. You had your hard workers and the quiet and reserved, like Nikita for example, and you also had your attention-seekers, like Peter Seddon, who I think wanted to be a sports star, from the way he talked about Quidditch. The Snake-Eyes bunch were unpleasant, and would tease me and be rude to me, which upset me a little at first; but after I had seen them be rude to others, not just from Lion-Heart, but the other two houses, too, I quickly accepted that being rude and mean to others was there way, and moved past it quickly.

Chris and Chrissie were quickly becoming my closest friends in the world. They were both making me laugh, but Chrissie more than Chris, but that was mainly because she got facts mixed up, and said some rather dumb stuff. I laughed at some of the stuff she said, but hid them behind my hand or tried to smother it over with a cough just in case I accidentally offended her at some of the things she said (for Chrissie thought that she was right); but as she walked off with no idea that I was laughing at the stuff that she was coming out with, I found myself bursting out with laughter, and I found that Chris was joining in with me. Chris I liked hanging out with. He had a sense of humour, and helped me out with some of the problems that I had with my homework. So yes, he's intelligent (but not as intelligent as Sian, though). We had quite a bit in common: we were both separated from our parents, had been moved to somewhere else and had been accepted somewhere else and liked a lot of the same things, like Quidditch and nature and all sorts of other stuff. It was great that I had a friend like that (for we were friends at the time). But there was something weird that often happened when I was around him: sometimes when I looked at him, he would have this weird look on his face when he looked at me, for it was like he was looking at me like I was the most beautiful and precious flower in all creation. And when he saw me looking, he would quickly shrug off this look, smile awkwardly and walk on. I looked at Chrissie for an answer, but all she did was shrug her shoulders and looked as confused as I was. I got used to this after a few weeks, but it was still odd. Oh, and as to some of the stuff that Chrissie used to say to make me laugh, I forget, but I do get a smile thinking about those days when everything was easy and far more simple, than all the crazy stuff we had to put up with in later years.

Yes, Chris and Chrissie were turning into my two best friends, and a lot of other people were becoming my close friends, and I was unfortunately getting a lot of enemies. But there was one person who just confused me at Dragon Mort back then.

Sian, of course, is the one I'm talking about here. You see, she did spend a lot of time on her own; from what I remember, she was either studying or on her phone. If her mother was in the school, she would go to her study once a week to see her (this I gathered from Chris and Chrissie). True, she wasn't speaking to Chris, Chrissie or myself during the next few weeks back then, but whenever I was saying something nice or rather interesting, I would see her out of the corner of my eye, looking at me and smiling quite warmly, she would quickly regain her cold composure, and walk off. When I looked at Chris and Chrissie for an answer, all they told me was that Sian was a puzzlement, and always liked to be one, because she found it interesting to see how others reacted to her. And indeed she was a puzzlement to me, for she wold often change reactions in a second. I have never seen someone, man or woman, do that before or since Sian. But this wasn't the only thing that puzzled me about her.

You see, I didn't notice this about her at first, but Sian always had these heavy blue leather gloves on. Heavy, but surprisingly delicate. She wore them all the time, and from what I saw, she never took them off. The teachers at Dragon Mort never told her to take them off, for it was apparent that Crighton had spoken to the staff and had told them all that there were special circumstances for Sian to wear them. When we were in Herbology, she quickly hid herself behind everyone in order to change her gloves into the dragon-hide ones which we were told to get, which only confused me more. I asked Chris and Chrissie once why she had those gloves on, and all they did was stop in their tracks, look at each other in surprise, and then they said simultaneously, "It's a secret", before they hurried on ahead of me, talking to themselves and ignoring me when I tried to press the subject more, so I let it drop and never asked about it again, but it didn't stop me from pondering about this every night before I went to sleep. You'll find out the reason behind the gloves during the Great Battle of Dragon Mort, which we will get to much, _much_ later. And now, back to the story.

On Hallowe'en morning we awoke to the delicious smell of baking pumpkin wafting through the corridors. Even better, Professor Winds announced in Charms that she thought we were ready to start making objects fly, something we had all been dying to try since we'd seen her make Nikita's toad – yes, she did eventually find her toad – zoom around the classroom. Professor Winds put us into pairs to practice. My partner was Chris (I was relieved at this because Nikita had been trying to catch my eye). Chrissie, however, was working with Sian. It was hard to tell who was angrier about this, Sian or Chrissie, for even though they were twin sisters and Chris told me they were the best of friends at home, something had changed between them since we were on the subs together. She hadn't spoken to Chrissie, Chris or me since the day my broomstick arrived.

"Now, don't forget that nice wrist movement we've been practising!" squeaked Professor Winds, perched on top of her pile of books as usual. "Swish and flick, remember, swish and flick. And saying the magic words is very important, too – never forget Wizard Baruffio, who said "s" instead of "f" and found himself on the floor with a buffalo on his chest."

It was very difficult. Me and Chris swished and flicked, but the feather we were supposed to be sending skywards just lay on the desktop. Chris got so impatient that he jabbed it with his wand and set fire to it – I had to put it on the floor and stamp the fire out with my feet.

Chrissie, at the next table, wasn't having much more luck.

"_Wingardium Leviosa!"_ she shouted, waving her long arms like a windmill.

"You're saying it _completely_ wrong," I heard Sian snap. "It's Wing-_gar _-dium Levi-_o_-sa, make the "gar" nice and long."

"You do it, then, if you're so clever," Chrissie snarled.

Sian rolled up the sleeves of her gown, flicked her wand and said, _"Wingardium Leviosa!"_

Their feather rose off the desk and hovered about four feet above their heads.

"Oh, well done!" cried Professor Winds, clapping. "Everyone see here, Miss Dawson's done it!"

Whilst Sian was being – and looking – smug about it, Chrissie was in a very fowl temper.

"It's no wonder no one can stand her," she said to me and Chris as we pushed our way into the crowded corridor. "She's a nightmare, honestly."

Someone knocked into me as they hurried past me. Then she stopped in front of us and turned, looking at us with very evil eyes and a monstrous glare. Me and Chris stood back a little, but Chrissie stood firm, even if her eyes did reveal that she was scared inside. Sian then pushed her face forward, growled at us, turned on her heel and pushed her way through the crowd, her hair now a fiery shade of red; and it could have been my imagination, but I could have sworn it was smoking a bit at the bottom. If you want to know why her hair was smoking and why it was a fiery shad of red, I'm afraid you'll have to wait until book seven to find out.

"I think she heard you," I said.

"So?" said Chrissie, but she looked a bit uncomfortable. "She must have noticed that she hasn't got any friends."

"Chrissie, how many times has Ma told you that you don't mess on the wrong side of Sian for it doesn't get you anywhere good?" said Chris.

"I know, I just didn't think," sighed Chrissie. "Am I a terrible person?"

"No, Chrissie, you just don't think about things like Sian does."

"Er, why don't you mess with Sian?" I asked, missing something.

"Oh Kiara, no one messes with Sian," said Chris as we carried on walking. "You see, Sian is a strong witch of a woman, and you never_ ever_ mess with a strong witch of a woman, because it gets you nowhere and doesn't do you any favours whatsoever. We learnt that from Sian herself." And that was all we said on that subject for the rest of the day.

Sian didn't turn up for the next class or the rest of the afternoon. On our way down to the Great Hall for the Hallowe'en feast, me, Chris and Chrissie overheard Perry Party talking to his friend Larry – Lawrence Brown – that Sian was heard crying in the girls' toilets and wanted to be left alone. Chrissie looked still more awkward at this, but a moment later we entered the Great Hall, where the Hallowe'en decorations put Sian out of our minds.

A thousand live bats fluttered from the walls and ceiling while a thousand more swooped over the tables in low black clouds, making the candles in the pumpkins stutter. The feast appeared suddenly on the golden plates, as it had at the start-of-term feast.

I was just helping myself to a jacket potato when Professor Quarrel came sprinting into the Great Hall, her turban askew and terror on her face. Everyone stared as she reached Professor Crighton's chair, slumped against the table and gasped, "Troll – in the dungeons – thought you ought to know."

She then sank to the floor in a dead faint.

For a moment, silence; then there was uproar. Professor Crighton stood up, waved her wand and several loud bangs boomed throughout the Hall to bring silence.

"Prefects," she rumbled, "will lead their houses back to their dormitories immediately! Teachers will follow me to the dungeons! Go!"

We were about to follow the other first-years out of the Great Hall, when Crighton's voice called out above the noise, "Chris! Kiara! Chrissie! Here! Now!" we got down from our table and ran to Crighton to see what she wanted.

"I've noticed that Sian isn't with you tonight. Why?" she asked, looking at Chrissie in particular.

"She always knows," Chris whispered to me.

"I'm sorry, Ma. Sian just really got to my temper today," Chrissie said with her head down. Crighton sighed and then faced the three of us as a group.

"Listen, with this troll roaming around the school, it's up to you three to save her. After all, she'd do the same for you – even you, Kiara," she said, looking at me, which I was surprised at.

"But ma'am, you just said to go back to our houses – "

"I know what I said _then_, Kiara, but please listen to what I'm saying _now_," Crighton said, and we did. "I want you to find Sian and save her, the three of you, together, for I have a feeling that the three of you, and Sian, will soon be working together on something far more important than this in the near future." Turns out she was right, but more on that later.

"Us?" gasped me, Chris and Chrissie, staring at each other in surprise.

"But ma'am, I –"

"Listen to me, Kiara," Crighton said, putting her hands on my shoulders and looking into my eyes as I looked into hers. I could also feel Chris and Chrissie staring at us, too. "I know that what the three of you are hearing from me right now is a lot to take in, I get that, I truly do, but not only is Sian one of the most important people in my life who I don't want to lose yet, but she's also important to many people – Chris and Chrissie included – but she will soon become very important to you, and when she does, not only will you realise how important and special she is, but also how much you're glad that you have her in your life. Also, your father would have done anything to save his friends, no matter the danger. Now go, go! And be careful, my dears!" said Crighton as she let go of m. then me, Chris and Chrissie left the Great Hall to rescue Sian.

"But how did a troll get in?" I asked Chris and Chrissie as we climbed the stairs.

"Don't ask me, they're supposed to be really stupid," said Chrissie. "Probably just people playing jokes."

"Let's get back to Sian here," said Chris. "Where is she? Did either of you hear from anyone where she is?"

Chrissie said "No" at the exact same time that I said "Yes". Chris and Chrissie looked at me.

"Where is she, Kiara?" Chrissie asked, looking desperate.

"Perry said that he heard from someone that she's crying in the girls' bathroom."

"Right, let's head there, then," said Chris as the three of us slipped down deserted corridor and hurried off towards the girls' toilets.

"Can you smell something?" Chrissie asked, scrunching up her nose.

I sniffed and a foul stench reached my nose, a mixture of old socks and the kind of public toilet no one seems to clean.

And then we heard it – a low grunting and the shuffling footfalls of gigantic feet. Chrissie pointed: at the end of the passage to the left, something huge was moving towards a room. The three of us sank into the shadows and watched it.

It was a horrible sight. Twelve feet tall, its skin was dull, granite grey, its great lumpy body like a boulder with its small bald head perched on top like a coconut. It had short legs as thick as tree trunks with flat, horny feet. The smell coming from it was incredible. It was holding a huge wooden club, which dragged along the floor because its arms were so long.

It reached the door of the room, stopped, made up its mind and moved inside the room. But it wasn't just any room, I realised, it was the girls' bathroom!

I gasped and could feel the colour draining from my cheeks as I said, "Guys, that isn't just any room …"

"It's not?" said Chris and Chrissie together.

"No, it's the girls' bathroom!" I said, as I saw Chris and Chrissie gulp. Then the three of us jumped, for we heard a high, petrified scream coming from it.

"_Sian!"_ the three of us screamed. The three of us then sprinted up the passage and I then pulled open the door and we ran inside.

We just saw Sian under a pile of wood, which used to be a bunch of cubicles, with the troll over her with its club raised.

"Sian, move!" I yelled, which she did; she crawled under the pile of wood and moved towards the sinks.

"Confuse it!" I said desperately to Chris and Chrissie, as we each picked up a piece of wood from the broken cubicles and threw it at the troll, as Sian was yelling, "Help! Help!"

The troll heard Sian yelling help and whacked its club against the sink which she was under. She just managed to get out of the way as the club hit the sink and broke a pipe, which water gushed out of like a miniature water feature.

"Oy, pea-brain!" yelled Chrissie, throwing another piece of wood at it. The troll didn't seem to notice the wood hitting its shoulder, but it heard the yell and turned towards Chrissie instead, giving me time to run around it.

"Come on, run, _run_!" I yelled at Sian, trying to pull her towards the door, but she couldn't move, she was still flat against the wall, her mouth open with terror.

The shouting and the echoes seemed to be driving the troll beserk. It roared again and started to wards Chris, who was nearest and had no way of escape.

I then did something that was very brave and very stupid and something which I still regret doing to this day, in fact; I took a great running jump and managed to fasten my arms around the club, which the troll was lifting into the air, and then I landed, legs first, around the troll's neck from behind. The troll couldn't feel me hanging there, but even a troll will notice if you stick a long bit of wood up its nose, and my wand had still been in my hand when I'd jumped – it had gone straight up one of the troll's nostrils, because I bent a little forward and when I leant back on its neck, my wand was up its nose.

Howling with pain, the troll noticed me and grabbed me. I was now hanging a few feet from the ground and the troll was trying to hit me with its club.

"Do something!" I yelled at Chrissie.

"What?" she yelled back.

"Anything, Chrissie, anything!" I yelled. "Hurry up!"

"Remember what we learnt in Charms today, Chrissie!" yelled Chris.

"Swish and flick, remember, swish and flick!" Sian recited Professor Winds, suddenly getting courage from the fact that she was being rescued, I think.

Chrissie pulled out her wand, gulped, breathed deeply and cried out _"Wingardium Leviosa!"_

The troll was holding the club over its head, had pulled its hand down again and was wondering where it was, when it looked back up, saw its club hovering above its head – and then dropped with a sickening crack, on to its owner's head.

"Cool!" said Chrissie.

"Wicked!" said Chris.

"Awesome!" said Sian, slowly standing up and getting her breath back all the while.

When the troll had been bopped on the head by its own club, it dropped me, and then started to sway on the spot. I started to crawl backwards when Sian came out of nowhere and pulled me back out of the way, as the troll fell flat on its face, with a thud that made the whole room tremble.

When the room stopped shaking, I looked at Sian and she looked at me. "Now we're even," she said, patting me on the shoulder and letting me go. Chris had moved over to Chrissie, who had put down her wand arm and the two of them looked at me and Sian. Out of the four of us, it was Sian who spoke first after a few minutes.

"Is it – dead?"

"I don't think so," I said. "I think it's just been knocked out."

I bent down and pulled my wand out of the troll's nose. It was covered in what looked like lumpy grey glue.

"Urgh – troll bogies."

I wiped it on the troll's trousers.

"Erm – guys?" said Sian slowly. We all looked at her. "For what it's worth," she continued, "I'm grateful for you to come and save me, even though I know you think of me as a pain. So, thank you for that. Especially you, Kiara."

"Me?" I said, surprised.

"Yes, for you not only saved me, but you also saved Chris and Chrissie, too from the troll by jumping on it. And even though it was brave and stupid, I would have done the same thing – probably." We all laughed at that.

Then a sudden slamming of a door and loud footsteps made the four of us look towards the door. We hadn't realised what a racket we had been making, but of course, someone downstairs must have heard the crashes and the troll's roars. A moment later, Professor Darbus had come bursting into the room, closely followed by Triphorm, with Quarrel bringing up the rear. Quarrel took one look at the troll, let out a faint whimper and fell back against the wall, clutching her heart.

Triphorm bent over the troll. Professor Darbus was looking at me, Chris and Chrissie. I had never seen her look so angry before this. Her lips were white. Before she burst into the room, I had had a thought of winning fifty points for Lion-Heart, but that thought quickly vanished from my mind.

"What on earth were you thinking of?" said Professor Darbus with cold fury in her voice. I looked at Chris and Chrissie, who were looking nervous. "You're lucky you weren't killed. Why aren't you in your dormitory?"

Triphorm gave me a swift, piercing look. Me, Chris and Chrissie all looked at the floor. I did wish that Chrissie had dropped her wand.

Then a strong voice spoke out.

"It's my fault, Professor Darbus – they were looking for me."

"Miss Dawson!"

Me, Chris, Chrissie and even the teachers who were in that room with us all looked at Sian in astonishment. Sian quickly flashed a warning look at me, Chris and Chrissie to not interrupt her before she turned back to the teachers.

"I went looking for the troll. I read about them and thought I could handle it. However, I was obviously mistaken. If it hadn't been for Kiara, Chris and Chrissie, I would most definitely be dead by now."

Me, Chris and Chrissie tried to look as though this story wasn't new to us.

"Well – in that case …" said Professor Darbus, staring at Sian. "Miss Dawson, you foolish girl, how could you think of tackling a mountain troll on you own?"

Sian hung her head. I was speechless. Sian was the last person to do anything against the rules, and here she was, pretending she had, to get us out of trouble. It was as if Triphorm had started handing out sweets.

"Miss Dawson, five points will be taken from Lion-Heart for this," said Professor Darbus. "I'm very disappointed in you. I'm surprised you didn't think of your dear mother and what she thought before you did something this reckless. If you're not hurt at all, you'd better get off to Lion-Heart Tower. Students are finishing the feast in their houses."

Sian left.

Professor Darbus then turned to me, Chris and Chrissie.

"And as for you two ladies and gentleman, I still say you were lucky. Not many first-year students could have taken on a full-grown mountain troll and lived to tell the tale. Five points will be awarded to each of you, for sheer dumb luck! Professor Crighton will be informed of this. You may go."

We hurried out of the chamber and didn't speak at all until we were two floors up. It was a relief to be away from the smell of troll, quite apart from anything else.

"We should have got more than fifteen points," said Chrissie.

"Definitely," said Chris.

"Er, ten, you mean, once she's taken off Sian's," I said.

"God of her to get us out of trouble like that," Chrissie admitted. "Mind you, we _did_ save her."

"Well, she might not have needed saving if someone hadn't _pushed her buttons_," Chris reminded her.

"All right, all right, don't remind me," snapped Chrissie.

We had reached the portrait of the Fat Lord.

"Pig snout," we said and entered.

The common room was packed and noisy. Everyone was eating the food that had been sent up. Sian, however, stood alone by the door, waiting for us. There was a very embarrassed pause. Then Sian grabbed Chris, Chrissie and I into a big hug, let go and said "Again, thank you. I'm forever grateful to the three of you. If any of you need any help, I'm here for you." Then she went off to get some food, and left us standing there, speechless.

"She's grateful?" I said, surprised.

"Yeah, but coming from Sian that's the closest you're ever going to get as an "I love you" from her," said Chrissie as Chris nodded. "Now let's eat up, I'm starved." And then we hurried to get food and ate with Sian.

And from that moment on, Chris and Chrissie restored their sibling-friendship with Sian, and she also became a very close friend of mine, too, and has been to this day. In life, some things surprise you, and making a person you didn't really like a friend after knocking out a twelve-foot mountain troll is one of the many surprises that life can throw at you. So take that and run with it, yall!


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

**Quidditch **

As we entered November, the weather turned very cold. The mountains around the school became icy grey and the lake like chilled steel. Every morning the ground was covered in frost. Mina could be seen from the upstairs windows, defrosting broomsticks on the Quidditch pitch, bundled up in a long moleskin overcoat, rabbit-fur gloves and enormous beaverskin boots.

The Quidditch season had begun. On Saturday, I would be playing in my first match after weeks of training: Lion-Heart versus Snake-Eyes. If Lion-Heart won, we would move up to second place in the House Championship.

Hardly anyone had seen me play before the first match because Cane had decided that, as our secret weapon, I should be kept, well, secret. But the news that I was playing Seeker had slipped out somehow, and I didn't know which was worse – people telling me I'd be brilliant or people telling me they'd be running around underneath me, holding a mattress. My first Quidditch match was the scariest thing I'd ever experienced in my eleven years – read on to find out why.

It was really lucky that I now had Sian as a friend. I didn't know how I'd have got through all my homework without her, what with all the last-minute Quidditch practice Cane was making us do. She had also leant me _Quidditch through the Ages_, which turned out to be a very interesting read.

I learnt that there were seven hundred ways of committing a Quidditch foul and that all of them had happened during a World Cup match in 1473; that Seekers were usually the smallest and fastest players and that most serious Quidditch accidents seemed to happen to them; that although people rarely died playing Quidditch, referees had been known to vanish and turn up months later in the Sahara Desert.

Sian had become a bit more relaxed about breaking rules since Chris, Chrissie and I had saved her from the mountain troll and she was much nicer for it. The day before my first Quidditch match the four of us were out in the freezing courtyard during break, and she had conjured us up a bright blue fire which could be carried around in a jam jar. We were standing with our backs to it, getting warm, when Triphorm crossed the yard. I noticed at once that Triphorm was limping. Chris, Sian, Chrissie and I moved closer together to block the fire from view; we were sure it wouldn't be allowed. Unfortunately, something about our guilty faces caught Triphorm's eye. She limped over. She hadn't seen the fire, but she seemed to be looking for a reason to tell us off anyway.

"What's that you've got there, Pride-Lander?"

It was _Quidditch through the Ages_. I showed her.

"Library books are not to be taken outside the school," said Triphorm. "Give it to me. Five points from Lion-Heart."

"She's just made that rule up," I muttered angrily as Triphorm limped away. "Wonder what's wrong with her leg?"

"Dunno, but I hope it's really hurting her," said Chrissie bitterly.

The Lion-Heart common room was very noisy that evening. Chris, Sian, Chrissie and I were sat together next to a window. Sian was checking mine, Chris and Chrissie's Charms homework for us. She would never let us copy ("How will you learn?"), but by asking her to read it through, we got the right answers anyway.

I felt restless. I wanted _Quidditch through the Ages_ back, to take my mind off my nerves about the next day. Why should I have been afraid of Triphorm? Getting up, I told Chris, Sian and Chrissie I was going to ask Triphorm if I could have it.

"Rather you than me," the three of them said together, but I had an idea that Triphorm wouldn't refuse if there were other teachers listening.

I made my way down to the staff room and knocked. There was no answer. I knocked again. Nothing.

Perhaps Triphorm had left my book in there? It was worth a try. I pushed the door ajar and peered inside – and a horrible scene met my eyes.

Triphorm and Match were inside, alone. Triphorm was holding her robes above her knees. One of her legs was bloody and mangled. Match was holding Triphorm's bandages.

"Blasted thing," Triphorm was saying. "How are you supposed to keep your eyes on all three heads at once?"

I tried to shut the door quietly, but –

"PRIDE-LANDER!"

Triphorm's face was twisted with fury as she dropped her robes quickly to hide her leg. I gulped.

"I just wondered if I could have my book back."

"GET OUT! _OUT!_"

I left before Triphorm could take any more points from Lion-Heart. I sprinted back upstairs.

"Did you get it?" Chrissie asked as I joined them. "What's the matter?"

In a low whisper, I'd told them what I'd seen.

"You know what this means?" I finished breathlessly. "I think she tried to get passed that three-headed cat at Hallowe'en! She's after whatever it's guarding! And I bet my broomstick _she _let that troll in, to create a diversion!"

Sian's eyes were wide.

"No – she wouldn't" she said. "I know she's not very nice, but she wouldn't try and steal something Ma is keeping safe."

"Honestly, Sian, you think all teachers are safe or something," snapped Chris. "I'm with Kiara. I wouldn't put anything past Triphorm. But what's she after? What's that cat guarding?"

"I agree with Chris," said Chrissie. "I mean, who knows what Triphorm's looking for, but to go behind Ma's back, limp and _pretend_ that she's not doing anything wrong? Nah, she's _definitely_ up to something."

I went to bed that night with the same thoughts buzzing in my mind. No matter how hard I tried to sleep, I couldn't. I tried to empty my mind – I needed sleep, I had to, my very first Quidditch match was just a few hours away – but the expression on Triphorm's face when I had seen her leg wasn't easy to forget.

The next morning dawned very bright and cold. The Great Hall was full of the delicious smell of fried sausages and the cheerful chatter of everyone looking forward to a good Quidditch match.

"You've got to eat some breakfast."

"I don't want anything."

"Just a bit of toast," wheedled Sian.

"I'm not too hungry."

I felt terrible. In an hours time I'd been walking on to the pitch – sorry I'm talking like I'm there, but sometimes I'm getting too caught up in my past for me to remember that I'm not there.

"Kiara, you need your strength," said Chris. "Seekers are always the ones to who get nobbled by the other team."

"Thanks, Chris, that _really _helps," I said, watching Chris pile ketchup on my sausages.

By eleven o'clock the whole school seemed to be out in the stands around the Quidditch pitch. Many students had binoculars. The stands might be raised high in the air but it was still difficult to see what was going on sometimes.

Chris, Sian and Chrissie joined Nikita, Zara and Dena the netball fan up in the top row. As a surprise for me, they had painted a large banner on one of the sheets Claws had ruined. It said _Pride-Lander for President_ and Sian, who was good at drawing as well as spells, had done a large Lion-Heart lion underneath. Then she performed a tricky little charm so that the paint flashed different colours.

Meanwhile, in the changing rooms, me and the rest of the team were changing into our scarlet uniform (Snake-Eyes were playing in green).

Cane cleared her throat for silence.

"OK, women," she said.

"And men," said Chaser Andrew Johnstone.

"And men," Cane agreed. "This is it."

"The big one," said Tanya Fang.

"The one we've all been waiting for," said Geri.

"We know Olivia's speech by heart," Tanya told me. "We were in the team last year."

"Shut up, you two," said Cane. "This is the best team Lion-Heart's had in years. We're going to win. I know it."

She then glared at us as if to say, "Or else".

"Right. It's time. Good luck, all of you."

I followed Tanya and Geri out of the changing room and, hoping my knees weren't going to give way, walked on to the pitch to loud cheers.

Sir Turner was refereeing. He stood in the middle of the pitch, waiting for the two teems, his broom in his hand.

"Now, I want a nice clean game, all of you," he said, once we were all gathered around him. I noticed that he seemed to be speaking particularly to Maria Spark, a fifth-year. I thought Spark looked as if she had some troll in her. Out of the corner of my eyes I saw the fluttering banner high above, flashing _Pride-Lander for President_ over the crowd. My heart skipped. I felt braver.

"Mount your brooms, please."

I clambered on to my Scoot-Zoomer Two Thousand.

Sir Turner gave a loud blast on his silver whistle.

Fifteen brooms rose high, high into the air. We were off.

"And the Quaffle is taken immediately by Andrew Johnstone of Lion-Heart – what an excellent Chaser that boy is, and rather attractive, too – "

"JONES!"

"Sorry, Professor."

The Fang twins' friend, Leah Jones, was doing the commentary for the match, closely watched by Professor Darbus.

"And he's really belting along up there, a neat pass to Aaron Spinnet, a good friend of Olivia Cane's, last year only a reserve – back to Johnstone and – no, Snake-Eyes have taken the Quaffle, Snake-Eyes captain Maria Spark gains the Quaffle and off she goes – Spark flying like an eagle up there – she's going to sc – no, stopped by an excellent move by Lion-Heart Keeper Cane and Lion-Heart take the Quaffle – that's Chaser Keith Ball of Lion-Heart there, nice dive around Spark, off up the field and – OUCH – that must have hurt, hit in the back of the head by a Bludger – Quaffle taken by Snake-Eyes – that's Alicia Puckey speeding off towards the goalposts, but she's blocked by a second Bludger – sent her way by Tanya or Geri Fang, can't tell which – nice play by the Lion-Heart Beater, anyway, and Johnstone back in possession of the Quaffle, a clear field ahead and off he goes – he's really flying – dodges a speeding Bludger – the goalposts are ahead – come on, now, Andrew – Keeper Bletch dives – misses – LION-HEART SCORE!"

Lion-Heart cheers filled the air, along with the howls and moans from Snake-Eyes.

"Budge up there, move along."

"Mina!"

Chris, Sian and Chrissie squeezed together to give Mina enough room to join them.

"Bin watchin' from me hut," said Mina, patting a large pair of binoculars around her neck, "but it isn't the same as bein' in the crowd. No sign of the Snitch yet, eh?"

"Nope," said Chrissie. "Kiara hasn't had much to do yet."

"Kept out of trouble, though, that's somethin'," said Mina, raising her binoculars and peering skywards at the speck that was me.

Way up above them, I was gliding over the game, squinting about for some sign of the Snitch. This was part of mine and Cane's plan.

"Keep out of the way until you catch sight of the Snitch," Cane had said. "We don't want you attacked before you have to be."

When Andrew had scored, I had done a couple of loop-the-loops to let out my feelings. Now I was back to staring around for the Snitch. Once I caught sight of a flash of gold but it was just a reflection from one of the Fangs' wristwatches, and once a Bludger decided to come pelting my way, more like a cannon ball than anything, but I dodged it and Tanya Fang came chasing after it.

"All right there, Kiara?" she had time to yell as she belt the Bludger furiously towards Maria Spark.

"Snake-Eyes in possession," Leah Jones was saying. "Chaser Puckey dodges two Bludgers, two Fangs and Chaser Ball and speeds towards the – wait a moment – was that the Snitch"

A murmur ran through the crowd as Alicia Puckey dropped the Quaffle, too busy looking over her shoulder at the flash of gold that had passed her left ear.

I saw it. In a great rush of excitement I dived downwards after the streak of gold. Snake-Eyes Seeker Tina Higgs had seen it, too. Neck and neck we hurtled towards the Snitch – all the Chasers seemed to have forgotten what they were supposed to be doing as they hang in mid-air to watch.

I was faster than Higgs – I could see the little round ball, wings fluttering, darting up ahead – I put on an extra spurt of speed –

WHAM! A roar of rage echoed from the Lion-Hearts below – Spark had blocked me on purpose and my broom span off course, with me holding on for dear life.

"Foul!" screamed the Lion-Hearts.

Sir Turner spoke angrily to Spark and then ordered a free shot at the goalposts for Lion-Heart. But in all the confusion, of course, the Golden Snitch had disappeared from sight again.

Down in the stands, Dena was yelling, "Send her off, ref!"

"This isn't netball, Dena," Chris reminded her. "You can't send people off in Quidditch."

But Mina was on Dena's side.

"They oughta change the rules, Spark coulda knocked Kiara outta the air."

Leah Jones was finding it difficult to take sides.

"So – after that obvious and disgusting bit of cheating – "

"Jones!" growled Professor Darbus.

"I mean, after that open and revolting foul – "

"_Jones, I'm warning you – "_

"All right, all right. Spark nearly kills the Lion-Heart Seeker, which could happen to anyone, I'm sure, so a penalty to Lion-Heart, taken by Spinnet, who puts it away, no trouble, and we continue play, Lion-Heart in possession."

It was as I dodged a Bludger which went spinning dangerously past my head that it happened. My broom gave a sudden, frightening lurch. For a split second, I thought I was going to fall. I gripped my broom tightly with both my hands and knew I'd never felt anything like that before.

It happened again. It was as though the broom was trying to buck me off. But Scoot-Zoomer Two Thousands did not suddenly decide to buck their riders off. I tried to turn back towards the Lion-Heart goal-posts, I had a mind to ask Cane to call time-out – and then I realised that my broom was completely out of control. I couldn't turn it. I couldn't direct it at all. It went zig-zagging through the air and every now and then making violent swishing movements which almost unseated me.

Leah was still commentating.

"Snake-Eyes in possession – Spark with the Quaffle – passes Spinnet – passes Ball – hit hard in the face by a Bludger, hope it broke her nose – only joking, Professor – Snake-Eyes score – oh no …"

The Snake-Eyes were cheering. No one seemed to have noticed that my broom was acting strangely. It was carrying me slowly higher, away from the game, jerking and twitching as it went.

"Dunno what Kiara thinks she's doing," Mina mumbled. She stared through her binoculars. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say she's lost control of her broom … but she can't have done …"

Suddenly, people were pointing up at me all over the stands. My broom had started to roll over and over, with me only just managing to hold on. Then the whole crowd gasped. My broom had given a wild jerk and I swung off it. I was now dangling from it, holding on with only one hand.

"Did something happen to it when Spark blocked her?" Chris whispered.

"Can't have," Mina said, her voice shaking. "Can't anything interfere with a broomstick except powerful Dark Magic – no kid could do that to a Scoot-Zoomer Two Thousand."

At these words, Sian picked up her own binoculars, but instead of looking up at me, she started looking furiously at the crowd.

"What are you doing?" Chrissie moaned, grey-faced. Chris looked round at them both, pale-faced, his eyes wide with terror.

"I knew it!" Sian gasped. "Triphorm – look!"

Chris and Chrissie grabbed the binoculars. Triphorm was in the middle of the stands opposite them. She had her eyes fixed on me and was muttering non-stop under her breath.

"You see, she's doing something – jinxing the broom."

"Jinxing the broom, what should we do?" Chrissie gasped.

"You two leave that to me. All you have to do is keep an eye on Kiara, and that's an order."

"But Sian – "

"Order!" she yelled, and before Chris or Chrissie could say another word, Sian had disappeared. Chris turned the binoculars back on me. My broom was vibrating so hard, it was almost impossible for me to hang on much longer. The whole crowd were on their feet, watching, terrified, as the Fangs flew up to try and pull me safely on one of their brooms, but it was no good – every time they got near me, the broom would jump higher still. They dropped lower and circled beneath me, obviously hoping to catch me if I fell. Maria Spark seized the Quaffle and scored five times without anyone noticing.

"Come on, Sian," Chrissie muttered desperately.

Sian had fought her way across to the stand where Triphorm was sitting. As she drew near she whipped out her wand and crept as quietly as she could and pointed her wand at Triphorm's robes. _"Lacarnum Inflamari!"_ she whispered, and a burst of flame leapt onto Triphorm's robes. She quickly ran from the scene, looking horrified at what she had just done. I knew all this stuff, for they told me about it on a later date, just so you all know.

Triphorm, meanwhile, was still muttering to herself until someone behind her said, "Fire! You're on fire!" Startled, she jumped up, knocking over Professor Quarrel out of the way, trying to fight the flame.

It was enough. Up in the air, I was able to clamber back on to my broom.

"Nikita, you can look now!" Chris said. Nikita had been sobbing into Mina's jacket for the last five minutes.

I was speeding towards the ground when the crowd saw me clap my hand to my mouth as though I was about to be sick – I hit the pitch on all fours – coughed – and something gold fell into my hand.

"I've got the Snitch!" I shouted, waving it above my head, and the game ended in complete confusion.

"She didn't _catch_ it, she nearly _swallowed_ it," Spark was still howling twenty minutes later, but it made no difference – I hadn't broken any rules and Leah Jones was still happily shouting the result – Lion-Heart had won by one hundred and seventy points to sixty. I heard none of this, though. I was being made a cup of strong tea back in Mina's hut, with Chris, Sian and Chrissie.

"It was Triphorm," Chrissie was explaining. "Sian, Chris and I saw her. She was cursing your broomstick, muttering, she wouldn't take her eyes off you."

"Rubbish," said Mina, who hadn't heard a word of what had gone on next to her in the stands. "Why would Triphorm do somethin' like that ?"

Me, Chris, Sian and Chrissie looked at each other, wondering what to tell her. I decided on the truth.

"I found something out about her," I told Mina. "She tried to get past that three-headed cat on Hallowe'en. It bit her. We think she was trying t steal whatever it's guarding."

Mina dropped the teapot.

"How do you know about Cutesy?" she said.

"_Cutesy?"_

"Yeah – she's mine – bought her off some Greek chap I met down the pub la' year – I leant her to Crighton to guard the – "

"Yes?" I said eagerly.

"No more questions, don't ask any more questions," said Mina gruffly. "That's top secret, that is."

"But Mina, whatever that cat's guarding, Triphorm's trying to steal it."

"Rubbish," said Mina again. "Professor Triphorm's a Dragon Mort teacher, she wouldn't try to steal it."

"So why did she just try and kill Kiara, then?" cried Sian.

Evidently, the afternoon's events certainly seemed to have changed her attitude towards Triphorm.

"Look Mina, Dragon Mort teacher or not, I know a spell when I see one, I've read all about them. You've got to keep eye contact, and Triphorm _was not blinking_!"

"Now you listen ter me, all four o' yeh!" said Mina hotly. "Yeh're meddlin' in things that aren't ter be meddled in. It's dangerous. What that cat's guarding is strictly between Susan Crighton and Nicola Fleming – "

"Aha!" I said. "So there's someone called Nicola Fleming involved, is there?"

Mina looked furious with herself.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

**The Mirror of Straeh **

_Dear Grandmother Sarabi,_

_Ha-ha! I've found out that someone called Nicola Fleming is involved with whatever is under the three-headed cat. Mina accidentally slipped it out when Chris, Sian, Chrissie and I had tea with her after my first Quidditch match, and Lion-Heart won! I won't tell you what happened to me during it because I don't want you to be scared. And I haven't told you about my friends yet, have I? Well, I'll tell you now. _

_Chrissie is fun, and she makes me laugh a lot, which is always a good thing, and she uses her humour out of class, too. She has a weird mind though, because sometimes she goes into a weird place in her head and comes out with some of the weirdest talk I've ever heard of before. Only a good kick from Sian will snap her out of it, because according to her, it's the only thing that works on her sister. Chris has a sense of humour too, and he is smart, so he and Sian help me get through my homework, which I'm glad of. Sian, as the eldest sister, wants what's best for her siblings and she watches out for them. She has a bit of snide humour, but some of the things she comes out with are good. She's starting to like me, but I think she needs time to get used to me. She tells me wonderful tales of her mother, which does shows that she loves her mother dearly. _

_Right, I've got to go, work to be done. Give my love to Grandmother Sarafina for me as usual, and I'll be in touch soon about if I'm coming home for Christmas or not. _

_Lots of love,_

_Kiara _

_P.S.: I think that Chris, Sian's brother, has a crush on me. I need your advice on what to do in your next letter, please. Thank you._

My grandmother got back to me in a couple of days. This time, she wasn't patient about me trying to find out what's under the cat was guarding.

_My dearest Kiara, _

_How many times do I have to tell you, DO NOT GET INVOLVED IN THIS! This doesn't involve you, now leave it be to those who know what they're doing why don't you? Now, let's move on to other, happier things._

_First of all, well done on winning your first Quidditch match" I'm so proud of you, my darling! Your parents will be so proud of you when I tell them! Now, these friends of yours. I'm glad you've mentioned three of them, which means that they are important to you than some of your other friends at school, if I am not mistaken. Don't worry about Sian, you'll get used to her over time, and as for her brother, this crush might just be that – a crush, so don't worry._

_Right, I'd better go. I've given Sarafina your love like you asked and do be in touch about Christmas soon. It's all right if you don't want to come home for Christmas, we understand. After all, there will be other Christmas' we will share together. And remember, keep out of the Nicola Fleming business. _

_Love you always,_

_Grandmother Sarabi _

As you can see, she wasn't best pleased and who can blame her? Anyhoo, on with this chapter.

Well, Christmas was indeed coming. One morning in mid-December, Dragon mort awoke to find itself covered in several feet of snow. The lake froze solid and the Fang twins were punished for bewitching several snowballs so that they followed Quarrel around, bouncing off the back of his turban. The few owls that managed to battle their way through the stormy sky to deliver post had to be nursed back to health by Mina before they could fly off again. Mine was one of them, for I had written to Grandmother Sirabi again to say that I would be staying at Dragon Mort for the holidays. She didn't mind; after all, we'd had ten years of Christmas memories before my first year at Dragon Mort to remember, and a few more after that to share, too.

No one could wait for the holidays to start. Whilst the Lion-Heart common room and Great Hall had roaring fires, the draughty corridors had become icy and a bitter wind rattled the windows in the classroom. Worst of all were Triphorm's classes down in the dungeons, where our breath rose in a mist before us and we kept as close as possible to our hot cauldrons.

"I do feel sorry," said Dani Malty, one Potions class, "for all those people who have to stay at Dragon Mort for Christmas because they're not wanted at home."

She was looking over at me as she spoke. Crate, Gabber and Rae-Bradley chuckled. I was measuring out powdered spine of lion-fish and I just ignored them. Malty had been even more unpleasant than usual since the Quidditch match. Disgusted that Snake-Eyes had lost, she had tried to get everyone laughing at how a wide-mouthed tree frog would be replacing me as Seeker next. Then she'd realised that nobody found this funny, because they were all so impressed at the way I had managed to stay on my bucking broomstick. So Malty, jealous and angry, had gone back to taunting me about having no proper family.

"You know, Malty," I said, "Nikita lives with her Granddad, so why do you have to have a go at me for living with my grandmothers?" Fortunately, Triphorm didn't see this, and what I said did shut Malty up and she sat scowling for the rest of the lesson.

As you have already read, I wasn't going back to my grandmothers for Christmas. Professor Darbus had come round the week before, making a list of students who would be staying for the holidays and after some thought, I signed up and wrote to Grandmother Sarabi straight afterwards. I didn't feel sorry for myself at all; that Christmas was one of the best I ever had, because I would be spending it with friends. I did feel sorry for my grandmothers, though but it was OK, for there were other Christmas' we would be spending together. Sian was going home for Christmas because her family wanted her there, but Chris and Chrissie were staying at the school, to keep me company.

When we left the dungeons at the end of Potions, we found a large fir tree blocking the corridor ahead. Two large feet sticking out at the bottom and a loud puffing told us that Mina was behind it.

"Hi, Mina, want any help?" Chrissie asked, sticking her head through the branches.

"Nah, I'm all right, thanks, Chrissie."

"Would you mind moving out the way?" came Malty's cold drawl behind us. "Trying to be good for your mother and eldest sister, Dawson? Hoping to be more impressive to your mother by learning to be gamekeeper because you long to be your mother's favourite child? Aw, Mina's hut would like to be your own hut someday, and not having to lean on your eldest sister's arm every day."

"You are saying that I'm a big baby?"

"Yeah, pretty much – "

Chrissie dived at Malty just as Triphorm came up the stairs.

"DAWSON!"

Chrissie let go of the front of Malty's uniform.

"She was provoked, Professor Triphorm," said Mina, sticking her huge face out from behind the tree. "Malty was insultin' her family."

"Be that as it may, fighting is against Dragon Mort rules, Mina," said Triphorm silkily. "Five points from Lion-Heart, Dawson, and be grateful it isn't more. Move along, all of you."

Malty, Crate, Gabber and Rae-Bradley pushed roughly past the tree, scattering pine needles everywhere and smirking.

"I'll get her," said Chrissie, grinding her teeth at Malty's back, "one of these days I'll get her – "

"I hate them both," I said, "Malty and Triphorm."

"Come on, cheer up, it's nearly Christmas," said Mina. "Tell yeh what, come with me an' see the Great Hall, looks a treat."

So Chris, Sian, Chrissie and I followed Mina and her tree off to the Great Hall, where Professor Darbus and Professor Winds were busy with the Christmas decorations.

"Ah, Mina, the last tree – put it in the far corner, would you?"

The Hall looked spectacular. Festoons of holly and mistletoe hung all around the walls and no fewer than twelve towering Christmas trees stood around the room, some sparkling with tiny icicles, some glittering with hundreds of candles.

"How many days you got left until yer holidays?" Mina asked.

"Just one," said Sian. "And that reminds me – Chris, Kiara, Chrissie, we've got half an hour before lunch, we should be in the library."

"Oh yeah, you're right," said Chris, tearing his eyes away from Professor Winds, who had golden bubbles blossoming out of her wand and was trailing them over the branches of the new tree.

"The library?" said Mina, following us out of the Hall. "Just before the holidays? Bit keen, aren't yeh?"

"Oh, we're not working," I told her brightly. "Ever since you mentioned Nicola Fleming we've been trying to find out who she is."

"You _what_?" Mina looked shocked. "Listen here – I've told yeh – drop it. It's nothin' to you what that cat's guardin'."

"We just want to know who Nicola Fleming is, that's all," said Sian.

"Unless you'd like to save us the trouble?" I added. "We must've been through hundreds of books already and we can't find her anywhere – just give us a hint – I know I've read her name somewhere."

"I'm sayin' nothin'," said Mina flatly.

"Just have to find out for ourselves, then," said Chrissie, and we left Mina looking disgruntled and hurried off to the library.

We had indeed been searching books for Fleming's name ever since Mina had let it slip, because how else were we going to find out what Triphorm was trying to steal? The trouble was, it was very hard to know where to begin, not knowing what Fleming might have done to get herself into a book. She wasn't in _Great Wizards of the Twentieth Century_, or _Noble Magical Names of Our Time_; she was missing, too, from _Important Modern Magical Discoveries_, and _A Study of Recent Developments in Wizardry_. And then, of course, there was the sheer size of the library; tens of thousands of books; thousands of shelves; hundreds of narrow rows.

Sian took out a list of subjects and titles she had decided to search whilst Chris and Chrissie strode off down a row of books and started pulling them off the shelves at random. I wandered over to the Restricted Section. I had been wondering for a while if Fleming wasn't somewhere in there. Unfortunately, you needed a specially signed note from one of the teachers to look in any of the restricted books and I knew I'd never get one. These were the books containing powerful Dark Magic never taught at Dragon Mort and only read by older students studying advanced Defence Against the Dark Arts.

"What are you looking for, girl?"

"Nothing," I said.

Sir Pincer the librarian brandished a feather duster at me.

"You'd better get out, then. Go on – out!"

Wishing I'd been a bit quicker at thinking up some story, I left the library. Me, Chris, Sian and Chrissie had already agreed we'd better not ask Sir Pincer where we could find Fleming. We were sure he'd be able to tell us, but we couldn't risk Triphorm hearing what we were up to.

I waited outside in the corridor to see if the other three had found anything, but I wasn't very hopeful. We had been looking for a fortnight, after all, but as we only had odd moments between lessons it wasn't surprising we'd found nothing. What we really needed was a nice long search without Sir Pincer breathing down our necks.

Five minutes later, Chris, Sian and Chrissie joined me, shaking their heads. We went off to lunch.

"And you will keep looking while I'm away, won't you?" said Sian. "And send me an owl if you find anything."

"And you can ask Ma and Dad if they know who Fleming is," Chris said. "It'd be safe to ask them."

"Very safe, seeing is our mother is the _headmistress of this school_!" said Sian.

"Oh yeah, I didn't think about that."

"No, you didn't," said Sian.

"Does your mother know who Fleming is, Sian?" I asked.

"Well, I asked her, and I think she does know who Fleming is, but she doesn't seem to want to tell me about her. She just taps her nose, smiles and then carries on writing or whatever she's doing. Sorry I can't be any more helpful."

"No problem, Sian," I said. and with that, we went off for lunch.

0000

Once the holidays had started, Chris, Chrissie and I were having too much fun to think much about Fleming. We had the dormitories to ourselves and the common room was far more emptier than usual, so we were able to get the good armchairs by the fire. We sat by the hour eating anything we could spare on a toasting fork – bread, crumpets, marshmallows – and plotting ways of getting Malty expelled, which were fun to talk about even if they wouldn't work.

Chris and Chrissie also started teaching me wizard chess. This was exactly like Muggle chess except that the figures were alive, which made it a lot like directing troops in battle. Chris and Chrissie's sets were new and shiny. Like everything else they owned, it was newly brought by their parents. The chessmen weren't a drawback at all. Chris and Chrissie knew them so well they never had any trouble getting them to do what they wanted.

I played with the chessmen Zara Finn had lent me and they didn't trust me at all. I wasn't a very good player then and they kept shouting different bits of advice at me which was very confusing: "Don't send me there, can't you see her knight? Send _him_, we can afford to lose _him_."

On Christmas Eve, I went to bed looking forward to next day for the food, fun and presents. When I woke the next morning, the first thing I saw was a small pile of presents at the foot of my bed.

"Happy Christmas," said Chrissie sleepily, as I scrambled out of bed and pulled on my dressing-gown.

"You too," I said. "Hey, shall we go over to the boys' dormitory and open our presents with Chris?"

"All right, then," sighed Chrissie, pulling on her dressing-gown. We picked up our presents and went to the boys' dormitory to open our presents with Chris. When we opened the door to see him, he had just woken up and was about to open his presents.

"Merry Christmas, Chris!" me and Chrissie said together.

"Merry Christmas, you too!" he said. There were a few other beds in this room and it was blue. "Hey, get into a bed and make yourselves warm and let's open our presents together." And that's what Chrissie and I did.

I picked up the top parcel. It was wrapped in thick brown paper and scrawled across it was _To Kiara, from Mina_. Inside was a roughly cut wooden flute. Mina had obviously whittled it herself. I blew it – it sounded a bit like an owl.

A second, larger present lay beneath.

_These come from me and your other Grandmother. Love from Grandmother Sarabi and Grandmother Sarafina._ Inside were a bunch of sweets from my grandmothers and a box of cream cakes. Yummy!

"Mina and my grandmothers – so who sent these?"

"Me and Chris know who that ones from," said Chrissie, going a bit pink and pointing to a very lumpy parcel. "They're from Sian. She knows you don't get much from home and she secretly has a passion for knitting – but you didn't hear it from me – and – oh no – " she groaned, "she's made you a Dawson jumper."

I had torn open the parcel to find a thick, hand-knitted sweater in emerald green and a large box of home-made fudge.

"Every year she makes us a jumper," said Chrissie, unwrapping her own, "and mine's always green."

"Yeah, and mine's always black," said Chris. "Sian knows us well, you see."

"That's really nice of her," I said, trying the fudge, which was very tasty.

"Yeah, she's really good at cooking and she can be very considerate when she wants to be," said Chrissie.

My next present also contained sweets – a large box of Multi-Flavoured Fruit-Frogs from Chrissie.

My next present also contained sweets – a large bag of All-Flavour Beans from Chris.

This left only one parcel. I picked it up and felt it. It was very light. I unwrapped it.

Something long and silver fell to the floor with a loud bang. I picked it up, and saw that it was a small baton, with a small, square-shaped hole in the middle. It could have been a flute, if it weren't for the fact that there were no holes at the top, bottom, or along the thing.

"What is it?" said Chrissie, as she left her box of All-Flavour Beans that she got from Sian, and joined me, along with Chris as I picked it up. I shrugged my shoulders and was about to say something, when I pressed it around the hole, and a long flowing cloak fell to the floor, which was fluid and silvery grey.

"What is it?" I asked Chris and Chrissie, who were both looking at it in awe. I picked up the shining, silvery cloth off the floor. It was strange to touch, like water woven into material.

"It's an Invisibility Cloak," said Chris, he and Chrissie looking at the cloak with awe. "I'm sure it is, and so is Chrissie – try it on."

I threw the Cloak around my shoulders and Chris and Chrissie yelled.

"It _is_! Look down!"

I looked down at my feet, but they were gone. I dashed to the mirror. Sure enough, my reflection looked back at me, just my head suspended in mid-air, my body completely invisible. I pulled the Cloak over my head and my reflection vanished completely.

"There's a note!" said Chrissie suddenly. "A note fell out of it!"

I pulled off the Cloak and seized the letter. Written in narrow, loopy writing I had never seen before were the following words:

_Your parents left this in my possession before they left their home. _

_It is time it was returned to you._

_Use it well._

_As I am sure you have worked out by now, the Cloak itself lies within the baton. All you have to do is push the hole around the middle of the baton slightly, and the Cloak will come out swiftly ad silently. If you want the Cloak to go back into the baton, just press the middle of the baton and it will go swiftly and silently back inside, but you have to be close enough to the baton in order for the cloak to go back inside. Also, you should know that if the Cloak is inside the baton, if you hold the baton with both hands - with one above and the other just below the hole - this will make you invisible, too._

_A Very Merry Christmas to you._

There was no signature. I stared at the note. Chris and Chrissie were both admiring the Cloak.

"I'd give _anything_ for one of these," Chrissie said. "_Anything._"

"Me too," said Chris. "What's the matter?"

"Nothing," I said. I felt very strange. Who had sent the Cloak? Had it really once belonged to my parents?

Before I could say or think anything else, the dormitory door was flung open and Tanya and Geri Fang bounded in. I quickly pressed the baton around the middle, and the Cloak flew swiftly and silently back inside. I didn't feel like sharing it with anyone else yet.

"Merry Christmas!"

"Hey, look – Kiara's got a Dawson jumper, too!"

Tanya and Geri were wearing yellow jumpers, one with a large blue T on it, the other with a large blue G.

"Kiara's is better than ours, though," said Tanya, holding up my jumper. "She obviously makes an effort if you're not family."

"why aren't you wearing yours, Chrissie? Chris?" Tanya demanded. "Come on, get them on, they're lovely and warm."

"You two haven't got letters on your jumpers," Tanya observed. "I suppose she thinks you don't forget your name. but we're not stupid – we know we're called Tanya and Geri."

"What's everyone doing in here?"

Perdy Fang stuck her head through the door, looking disapproving. She had clearly come halfway through unwrapping her presents as she, too, carried a lumpy jumper over her arm, which Geri seized.

"P for prefect! Get it on, Perdy, come on, we're all wearing ours, even Kiara got one."

"I – don't – want – " said Perdy thickly, as the twins forced the jumper over her head, knocking her glasses askew.

"And you're not sitting with Prefects today, either," said Tanya. "Christmas is a time for family."

They frog-marched Perdy from the room, her arms pinned to her sides by her jumper.

0000

I had never in all my life up until then had such a Christmas dinner. A hundred fat, roast turkeys, mountains of roast and boiled potatoes, platters of fat chipolatas, tureens of buttered peas, silver boats of thick, rich gravy and cranberry sauce – and stacks of wizard crackers every few feet along the table. These fantastic crackers were nothing like the feeble Muggle ones the Smiths usually bought, with their little plastic toys and their flimsy paper hats. I pulled a wizard cracker with Tanya, and it didn't just bang, it went off with a blast like a cannon and engulfed us all in a cloud of blue smoke, while from the inside exploded a rear-admiral's hat and several live, white mice. Up on the High Table, Crighton had swapped her pointed witches hat for a flowered bonnet and was chuckling merrily at a joke Professor Winds had just read her.

Flaming Christmas puddings followed the turkey. Perdy nearly broke her teeth on a silver Sickle embedded in her slice. I watched Mina getting redder and redder in the face as she called for more wine, finally kissing Spud on the cheek, and his face turned red.

When I finally left the table, I was laden with a stack of things out of the crackers, including a pack of non-explodable, luminous balloons, a make-your-own-shampoo kit and my own new wizard chess set. The white mice had disappeared and I had a nasty feeling they were going to end up as Mrs Robbs' Christmas dinner.

The Dawsons, the Fangs and I spent a happy afternoon having a furious snowball fight in the grounds. Then, cold, wet and gasping for breath, we returned to the fire in the Lion-Heart common room, where I broke in my new chess set by losing spectacularly to Chris. I suspected I wouldn't have lost so badly if Perdy hadn't tried to help me so much.

After a tea of turkey sandwiches, crumpets, trifle, and Christmas cake, everyone felt too full and sleepy to do much before bed except sit and watch Perdy chase Tanya and Geri all over Lion-Heart Tower because they'd stolen her prefect badge.

It had been my best Christmas day ever. Yet something had been nagging at the back of my mind all day. Not until I climbed into bed was I free to think about it: the Invisibility Cloak inside the baton and whoever had sent it.

Chrissie, full of turkey and with nothing mysterious to bother her, fell asleep almost as soon as she'd drawn the curtains of her four-poster. I leant over the side of my own bed, pulled the baton out, pressed it and watched as the Cloak fell swiftly and silently from it – I had moved it out of the boys' dormitory with Chrissie earlier and quickly stuffed it under my bed before we went down to dinner.

My parents … this had been my parents. I let the material flow over my hands, smoother than silk, light as air. _Use it well_, the note had said.

I had to try it, now. I slipped out of bed and wrapped the Cloak around myself. Looking down at my legs, I saw only moonlight and shadows. It was a very funny feeling.

_Use it well._

Suddenly, I felt wide awake. The whole of Dragon Mort was open to me in this Cloak. Excitement flooded through me as I stood there in the dark and silence. I could go anywhere in this, anywhere, and Match would never know.

Chrissie snored in her sleep. I thought to myself if I should wake her and Chris, but something held me back – my mother's Cloak – I felt that this time – the first time – I wanted to use it alone.

I crept out of the dormitory, down the stairs, across the common room and climbed through the portrait hole.

"Who's there?" squawked the Fat Lord. I said nothing and walked quickly down the corridor.

I kept pondering where I should go. I stopped, heart racing, and thought. And then it came to me. The Restricted Section in the library. I'd be able to read as long as I liked, as long as it took to find out who Fleming was. I set off, drawing the Invisibility Cloak tight around me as I walked.

The library was pitch black and very eerie. I lit a lamp to see my way along the rows of books. The lamp looked as if it was floating along in mid-air, and although I could feel my arm supporting it, the sight gave me the creeps.

The Restricted Section was right at the back of the library. Stepping carefully over the rope which separated these books from the rest of the library, I held up my lamp to read the titles.

They didn't tell me much. Their peeling, faded gold letters spelled words in languages I couldn't understand. Some had no title at all. One book had a dark stain on it that looked horribly like blood. The hairs on the back of my neck prickled. Maybe I was imagining it, maybe not, but I thought a faint whispering was coming from the books, as though they knew someone was there who shouldn't have been.

I had to start somewhere. Setting the lamp down carefully on the floor, I looked along the bottom shelf for an interesting-looking book. A large black and silver volume caught my eye. I pulled it out with difficulty, because it was very heavy, and, balancing it on my knee, let it fall open.

A piercing, blood-curdling shriek split the silence – the book was screaming! I snapped it shut, but the shriek went on and on, one high, unbroken, ear-splitting note. I stumbled backwards and knocked over my lamp, which went out at once. Panicking, I heard footsteps coming down the corridor outside – stuffing the shrieking book back on the shelf , I ran for it. I passed Matchstick in the doorway; Match's pale, wild eyes looked straight through me and I slipped under Match's outstretched arm and streaked off up the corridor, the book's shrieks still ringing in my ears.

I came to a sudden halt in front of a tall suit of armour. I had been so busy getting away from the library , I hadn't paid attention to where I was going. Perhaps because it was dark, I didn't recognise where I was at all. There was a suit of armour near the kitchens, I knew, but I must have been five floors above there.

"You asked me to come directly to you, Professor, if anyone was wandering around at night, and somebody's been in the library – Restricted Section."

I felt the blood drain out of my face. Wherever I was, Match must have known a short cut, because his soft, greasy voice was getting nearer, and to my horror, it was Triphorm who replied.

"The Restricted Section? Well, they can't be far, we'll catch them."

I stood rooted to the spot as Match and Triphorm came around the corner ahead. They couldn't see me, of course, but it was a narrow corridor and if they came much nearer they'd knock right into me – the Cloak didn't stop me being solid.

I backed away as quietly as I could. A door stood ajar to my left. It was my only hope. I squeezed through it, holding my breath, trying not to move it, and to my relief I managed to get inside the room without their noticing anything. They walked straight past me and I lay against the wall, breathing deeply, listening to their footsteps dying away. They had been close, very close. It was a few seconds before I noticed anything about the room I had hidden in.

It looked like a disused classroom. The dark shapes of desks and chairs were piled against the walls and there was an upturned waste-paper basket – but propped against the wall facing me was something that didn't look as if it belonged there, something that looked as if something had just put it there to keep it out of the way.

It was a magnificent mirror, as high as the ceiling, with an ornate silver frame, standing on two clawed feet. There was an inscription carved around the top: _Straeh stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on woshi_.

My panic fading now that there was no sound of Match and Triphorm, I moved nearer to the mirror, wanting to look at myself and see no reflection again. I stepped in front of it.

I had to clap my hands to my mouth to stop myself screaming. I whirled around. My heart was pounding far more furiously than when the book had screamed – for I had seen not only myself in the mirror, but other things behind me, too, but they were a bit out of focus.

But the room was empty. Breathing very fast, I turned slowly back to the mirror.

When I turned back to face the mirror, I could feel the Cloak slip off my shoulders and, surprisingly, things started to come out of the mirror! The leafy birds and petal-people came out of the mirror and danced in a circle around me. The birds fluttered their wings in a way of saying hello to me and the petal-people bowed and curtseyed to me. I curtseyed and waved back to them before they went back inside the mirror.

"They seem to know who I am!" I gasped. "But how?"

Then I turned back to the mirror and I saw a person – an _actual_ person this time, not a _petal_-person – walking towards it slowly, out of focus at first, but slowly coming into focus. It was a woman, I spotted, who was walking towards me. And just like the birds and petal-people, she came out of the mirror, her arms out wide in welcome.

She was very beautiful; her golden waist-length hair hanging down her back, tall, elegant, and her eyes were the exact same shape as mine, I thought. She stopped right in front of me, smiling and waiting for me to say something. I looked at her slowly recognising her and where I saw her from, and then it hit me, the photo from my parents' wedding – she was my mother!

"Mum?" I said, and her smile grew wider and I ran into her arms, and she picked me up and spun me around. Then she put me back on the floor and she knelt in front of me and we hugged. I was so happy and I looked over her shoulder at the mirror; someone else was walking towards the mirror, too, a man this time, out of focus, like Mum, but coming into focus as he came nearer, slowly, like Mum too. He stepped out of the mirror like Mum did and he stood gazing and smiling at me and Mum. She looked up at the man when she saw the shadow over us and smiled at him, stood up and went to his side. When she reached him, he put an arm around her. I now studied the man, holding her and looking at me, smiling a wide, loving smile.

He was taller than her, not by much though. He had tawny hair with a claw-like fringe on either side of his face, just like mine, I realised. And his mouth and smile were just like mine and I knew I was looking at my father – really I knew when he first came out of the mirror, for I had seen him before. "Daddy?" I said, and then both my parents held me tightly and for the first time in my life I felt whole, like a large space in my heart had been filled. I cried with pure joy at holding both my parents like this, for I had only held my Dad before then, not my mum – I had only seen my mum by that picture at my bedside of my parents wedding at the cottage. I dried my eyes quickly and leant back so I could look at my parents properly. We then sat down on the cold hard stone floor.

"I'm so happy to talk to you both!" I said. But they didn't reply, they just kept smiling at me. I was wondering why this was, and then it came to me. "Of course," I said, "you're just reflections in a mirror, you can't talk to me, can you?" they both shook their heads sadly. I looked at them both hungrily, longing to be with them forever, wanting to stay with them, touch them, look at them, let them hold and look at me. Nothing else mattered to me at that time except the people sitting in front of me.

How long I sat there for, I didn't know or care. My parents didn't go back into the mirror and I looked and looked at them and they me until a distant noise brought me back to my senses. I couldn't stay there, I had to find my way back to bed. I got up to leave as did my parents, whispered to them, "I'll be back," which they nodded sadly to, hugged them both, picked up the Cloak and ran to the door. When I reached the door I looked back, but my parents were gone, so I wrapped the Cloak around me and hurried from the room.

0000

"You could have woken us up," said Chrissie crossly.

"Yeah, we would have gone with you," said Chris.

"You can come tonight, I'm going back, I want to show you the mirror."

"We'd like to see your mum and dad," said Chrissie eagerly, as Chris nodded.

"And I want to see all your family, all the Dawsons, you'll be able to show me your brothers and sisters and everyone."

"You can see them any old time," said Chris, waving his hand. "Just come round our house this summer. Anyway, maybe it only shows people from the past? Shame about not finding Fleming, though. Have some bacon or something, why aren't you eating anything?"

I couldn't eat. I had seen my parents and would be seeing them again tonight. I had almost forgotten about Fleming. It didn't seem very important to me at that moment. Who cared what the three-headed cat was guarding? What did it matter if Triphorm stole it, really?

"Are you all right?" said Chrissie. "You look odd."

0000

What I feared the most was that I might not be able to find the mirror room again. With Chris and Chrissie covered in the Cloak also, we had to walk much more slowly next night. We tried to retrace my route from the library, wandering around the dark passageways for nearly an hour.

"I'm freezing," said Chris. "Let's forget this and go back."

"Yeah, I want to go back, too," said Chrissie.

"_No!"_ I hissed. "I know it's here somewhere."

We passed the ghost of a tall wizard floating in the opposite direction, but saw no one else. Just as Chrissie was starting to moan that her feet were dead with cold and Chris was complaining that his hands were getting number, I spotted the suit of armour.

"It's here – just here – yes!"

We pushed the door open. I dropped the Cloak from round my shoulders and ran to the mirror.

Just like the night before when I reached the mirror, leafy birds and petal-people dashed out of it, fluttered their wings and bowed and curtseyed to me. I waved and curtseyed back to them. Then my parents came out of the mirror, at the same time that night. I was so happy that I hardly noticed that Chris and Chrissie were shuddering and jumping as they felt things that they couldn't see nor hear fly past them.

"What was that?" Chrissie said, jumping aside. "I _swear_ something just brushed past me!"

"Kiara, who are you hugging?" Chris asked surprised, as he looked at me hugging my parents who he couldn't see.

"What, can't you see them?" I asked Chris and Chrissie whilst looking at my parents.

"Kiara, we can only see you hugging invisible people," said Chrissie.

"But look at them, they're standing right in front of me."

"It's like Chrissie said, kid, we can only see you."

"Well, stand in front of the mirror, then!" I said impatiently.

Chrissie stood in front of the mirror first. With her in front of it, my parents were quickly _whooshed_ back into the mirror and I jumped back and ran to Chris' side as I felt invisible things swirl around me and him from the mirror, but which Chrissie could obviously see, for her face was lit up brighter than the moon.

"What do you see, Chrissie?" I asked her.

"I'm Ma's favourite!"

"What?"

"It's true. Ma has her arm around me and all the family are really impressed and proud of me, Sian too."

"All right, you've had your turn, now let me see," said Chris, pushing Chrissie aside. Chrissie ran to stand by me and her visions vanished and things that only Chris could see whooshed around him.

"What do you see, Rickers?" Chrissie asked.

"I see my parents," he said. "They're together, just like I always wanted them to be. And my mum … she's _normal_ … she hasn't got anything wrong with her – you know, in her head – and I'm introducing her to …" his voice faded away and his face went red.

"Introducing them to who, Chris?" I asked.

He hesitated and said, "Er – no one important." But I didn't buy this, and nor, I think, did Chrissie.

"C'mon Chris, tell, who were you introducing your parents too?"

"Oh forget that, Kiara. Let me have another go in the mirror," said Chrissie, shoving Chris aside.

"Hey, don't do – "

"No, you had your turn, let me see my parents – "

"Er, you had it to yourself last night, give us a go – "

"No, I want to see my parents again – "

"Yeah, and _I _want to see my real parents again, so – "

"You two aren't getting another go. Outta my – "

"Hey, that ain't fair – "

"Yeah, and don't push us – "

A sudden noise outside in the corridor put an end to our discussion. We hadn't realised how loud we had been talking.

"Quick!"

Chrissie threw the Cloak back over us as the luminous eyes of Mrs Robbs came round the door. Me, Chris and Chrissie stood quite still, the three of us thinking the same thing – did the Cloak work on cats? After what seemed an age, she turned and left.

"This isn't safe – she might've gone for Match. Come on."

And Chris and Chrissie dragged me from the room.

0000

The snow still hadn't melted next morning.

"Want to play chess, Kiara?" said Chrissie.

"No."

"Why don't we go down and visit Mina?" said Chris.

"No … you go …"

"We know what you're thinking about, Kiara, that mirror. Don't go back tonight," said Chrissie.

"She's right, Kiara. Don't go."

"Why not?"

They looked at Kiara, then back at me and Chrissie answered: "Look, Chris and I were talking about it before you got up and we've got a bad feeling about it – and anyway, you've had too many close shaves as it is. Match, Triphorm and Mrs Robbs are wandering around. So what if they can't see you? What if they walk into you? What if you knock something over?"

"Are you sure you haven't been spending too much time with Sian before she left here or sent her a letter recently?"

"No, why?"

"Because you sound an awful lot like her."

"Look, Kiara, Chrissie's right. Don't go back to that mirror!"

But at that moment, I only had one thought in my head, and that was to get in front of that mirror, and Chris and Chrissie weren't going to stop me. Besides, they weren't the boss of me. But it turns out that they were right, as you will see.

0000

The third night I found my way more quickly than before. I was walking so fast I knew I was making more noise than was wise, but I didn't meet anyone.

And the birds and petal-people came fluttering and curtseying at me and I waved and curtseyed back and then my parents came and hugged me and we sat down on the floor again. Together. Just like it was meant to be. There was nothing that could stop me from staying there all night with my parents. Nothing at all.

Except –

"So – back again, Kiara?"

I felt as though my insides had turned to ice. I looked behind me. Sitting on one of the desks by the wall was none other than Susan Crighton. I was so desperate to get to the mirror that I must have walked straight past her.

"I – I didn't see you, ma'am."

"Strange how short-sighted being invisible can make you," said Crighton, and I was relieved to see that she was smiling, and my parents were smiling at her, too.

"So," said Crighton, sliding off the desk and coming to sit on the floor beside me, "you, like hundreds before you, have discovered the Mirror of Straeh."

"I didn't know it was called that, ma'am."

"But I expect by now you've realised what it does?"

I thought about it, and then it came to me – "It shows me my heart's desire, doesn't it, ma'am?"

"Very good. Yes it does show you your heart's desire, which in this case is your family, and in Chrissie's case is her being more important than Sian and Chris was introducing someone to his real parents, and I say _"__someone"_ because he is too embarrassed to say."

"How did you know –?"

"I don't need a cloak to become invisible," said Crighton gently. "Now, you've already said that the Mirror of Straeh shows us our heart's desire. Can you think what that means, Kiara?"

"Does it mean that it shows us what we want … whatever we want …"

"Yes and no," said Crighton. "You see Kiara, some of us know our heart's desire, some don't realise because they have too much on their mind to know until they look in this mirror. You have never seen your parents before, so you see them sitting beside you. My daughter Chrissie sees herself being like her eldest sister and more and being my and her father's favourite, and Chris sees himself with his parents and being, in a word, content. However, this mirror will give us neither knowledge or truth. Men and women alike have been entrance by what they have seen, wasted away before it, even been driven mad, not knowing what it shows is real or even possible.

"The Mirror will be moved to a new home tomorrow, Kiara, and I ask you not to go looking for it again. If you ever _do_ come across it, you will now be prepared. It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live, remember that. now why don't you put that admirable Cloak back on and get off to bed?"

I stood up.

"Ma'am – Professor Crighton? Can I ask you something?"

"Obviously, you've just done so," Crighton smiled. "You may ask me one more thing, however."

"What do you see when you look in the Mirror?"

"I? I see my eldest daughter and I here together."

I stared.

"I never get to spend enough time with her," Crighton said. "The most I get to see of her is a couple of weeks in the summer and every odd weekend to see how she's doing. I want more time with her, I really do." She sighed. "Well, goodnight, Kiara."

"Goodnight, ma'am."

Crighton smiled, stood up and left me alone with my parents. I stood up and looked at them. My parents were standing up, too. Then, something odd happened. They whooshed back into the Mirror, even though I hadn't moved, and the Mirror's glass didn't stay smooth anymore. It started to swirl round. I picked up the Cloak and moved towards the door of the room, still looking at the Mirror. It was fortunate I was near the door, for an evil white skull with gleaming scarlet eyes jumped out of the Mirror and screamed a dreadful scream, so dreadful that I can't put it down in word and will haunt me till the day I die, I'm sure of it. Anyhoo, after the scream, I stumbled backwards, wrapped the Cloak around me and hurried back to the dormitory.

I didn't slow down until I got to the staircase to the dormitories. I gently opened the door to the dormitory where I slept – for I could hear Chrissie snoring – went in, gently closed it, took off the Cloak, put the Cloak under my bed and got into bed. And it was only when I got into bed that I really had the chance to think about what Crighton said about what she had seen in the Mirror. It struck me that what she said might have been partly true. But then again, it had been a personal question.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

**Nicola Fleming **

Crighton had convinced me not to go looking for the Mirror of Straeh again and for the rest of the Christmas holidays the Invisibility Cloak stayed folded within the baton at the bottom of my trunk. I wished back then that I could have forgotten about what I had seen in the Mirror as easily, but I couldn't. I started having nightmares. Over and over again I dreamed that my parents were with me in a meadow, and then everything went cold and my parents and the meadow were sucked into a big black void, when a white skull with gleaming scarlet eyes pops up and I wake up from a flash of green light and the skull cackled with laughter in a high voice.

I told Chris and Chrissie about the dreams that I was having, and this was what they said:

"See, Ma was right, that mirror could drive you mad," said Chrissie.

"Never mind Ma, Chrissie. _We_ were the ones who told Kiara not to go back, remember?"

"Oh, yeah, and us."

Sian, who came back the day before term started, took a different view of things. She was torn between horror at the idea of me being out of bed after hours, roaming the school three nights in a row ("If Match had caught you!") and disappointed that I hadn't found out who Nicola Fleming was. And, of course, her mother was glad to have her favourite and eldest child back at the school, too.

We had almost given up hope of ever finding Fleming in a library book, even though I was still sure that I had read the name somewhere. Once term had started, we were back to skimming through books for ten minutes during our breaks. I had even less time than the other three, because Quidditch practice had started again.

Cane was working the team harder than ever. Even the endless rain that had replaced the snow couldn't dampen her spirits. The Fangs complained that Cane was becoming a fanatic, but I was on Cane's side. If we won our next match, against Badger-Stripes, we would overtake Snake-Eyes in the House Championship for the first time in seven years. Quite apart from wanting to win, I found that I had fewer nightmares when I was tired out after training.

Then, during one particular wet and muddy practice session, Cane gave us some pretty bad news. She'd just gotten very angry with the Fangs, who kept dive-bombing each other and pretending to fall off their brooms.

"Will you stop messing around!" she yelled. "That's exactly the sort of thing that'll lose us the match! Triphorm's refereeing this time, and she'll be looking for any excuse to knock points off Lion-Heart!"

Geri Fang really did fall off her broom at these words.

"_Triphorm's_ refereeing?" she spluttered through a mouthful of mud. "When's she ever refereed a Quidditch match? She's not going to be fair if we might overtake Snake-Eyes."

The rest of us landed next to Geri to complain, too.

"It's not _my_ fault," said Cane. "We've just got to make sure we play a clean game, so Triphorm doesn't have an excuse to pick on us."

Which was all very well, I thought, but I had another reason for not wanting Triphorm near me whilst I was playing Quidditch …

The rest of the team hung back to talk to each other at the end of practice as usual, but I headed straight back to the Lion-Heart common room, where I found Chris and Sian playing chess. Chess was the only thing Sian ever lost at, something Chris, Chrissie and I thought was very good for her.

"Don't talk to me for a moment," said Chris when I sat down next to him. "I need to concen –" He caught sight of my face. "What's the matter with you? You look terrible."

Speaking quietly so that no one else would hear, I told the other three about Triphorm's sudden, sinister desire to become a Quidditch referee.

"Don't play," said Sian at once.

"Say you're ill," said Chrissie.

"Pretend to break your leg," Sian suggested.

"_Really_ break your leg," said Chris.

"I can't," I said. "There isn't a reserve Seeker. If I back out, Lion-Heart can't play at all."

At that moment, Nikita toppled into the Lion-Heart common room. How she had managed to climb through the portrait hole was anyone's guess, because her legs had been stuck together with what we recognised at once as the Leg-Locker Curse. She must have had to bunny hop all the way up to Lion-Heart Tower.

Everyone fell about laughing except Sian, who leapt up and performed the counter-curse. Nikita's legs sprang apart and she got to her feet, trembling.

"What happened?" Sian asked her, leading her over to sit with me, Chris and Chrissie.

"Malty," said Nikita shakily. "I met her outside the library. She said she'd been looking for someone to practice that on."

"Go to Professor Darbus!" Sian urged Nikita. "Report her!"

Nikita shook her head.

"I don't want any more trouble," she mumbled.

"You've got to stand up to her, Nikita!" said Chrissie. "She's used to walking all over people, but that's no reason to lie down in front of her and make it easier."

"There's no need to tell me I'm not brave enough to be in Lion-Heart, Malty's already done that," Nikita choked.

I felt in a pocket of my skirt and pulled out a Multi-Flavoured Fruit-Frog, the very last one from the box Chrissie had given me for Christmas. I gave it to Nikita, who looked as though she might cry.

"You're worth twelve of Malty," I said. "The Lion-Head Sorting Head chose you for Lion-Heart, didn't it? And where's Malty? In stinking Snake-Eyes."

Nikita's lips twitched in a weak smile as she unwrapped the Frog.

"Thanks, Kiara … I think I'll go to bed … D'you want the card, you collect them, don't you?"

As Nikita walked away I looked down at the Famous Wizard card.

"Crighton again," I said. "She was the second one I ever –"

I gasped. I stared at the back of the card. Then I looked up at Chris, Sian and Chrissie.

"_I've found her!"_ I whispered. "I've found Fleming! I _told _ you I'd read the name somewhere before, I read it on the sub coming here – listen to this: "Professor Crighton is currently famous for her defeat of the dark witch Femwaz in 1945 _and work on alchemy with her partner, Nicola Fleming"_!"

Sian jumped to her feet. She hadn't looked so excited since we'd got the marks back for our very first piece of homework.

"Stay there!" she said, and she sprinted up the stairs to the girls' dormitories. Me, Chris and Chrissie had barely time to exchange mystified looks before she was dashing back, an enormous old book in her arms.

"I never thought to look in here!" she whispered excitedly. "I got this out weeks ago for a bit of light reading."

"This is _light_?" said Chris. Sian's head shot up and she gave him a dark look.

"Rickers, do you want me to slam this book over that big, fat head of yours?"

"No."

"Well, keep your mouth shut then if you know what's good for you!" Sian snapped at him, then she went back to the book before Chris could say another word. She was flicking frantically through the pages, muttering to herself.

At last she found what she was looking for.

"I knew it! I _knew_ it!"

"Er, are we allowed to speak yet?" Chrissie asked nervously, hoping that she wouldn't get a tongue-lashing like Sian gave Chris.

"Nicola Fleming," she whispered dramatically, "is the _only known human alive to actually use magic on something that is already used in magic and has already been made – the Mirror of Wishes_!"

This didn't have quite the effect on us as she had been expecting.

"The _what_?" said me, Chris and Chrissie.

"Oh, _honestly_, don't you three ever read? Look – read that, there."

She pushed the book towards us, and me, Chris and Chrissie read:

_Nicola Fleming found the Mirror of Wishes one day whilst taking care of her plants in her back garden. The Mirror was originally made by the Guardians magic to make any three wishes come true to anyone who wanted anything. A person could wish for any metal to be turned into pure gold, and wish for the Elixir of Life, which makes the drinker immortal. _

_Legend states that the Mirror was stolen by pirates and that before they could use the third and final wish their ship hit a rock, the pirates all perished in the wreck of the ship and the Mirror was lost forever. Somehow – no one alive knows how this happened – the mirror travelled to earth and apparently it was stuck there for many centuries, judging by how old it looked when Fleming found it._

_Using alchemy, Fleming has managed to make the Mirror give three wishes to any given person: for example, if one person uses three wishes, they can pass it on to another person for them to have three wishes, but no person can use the mirror twice. Also, Fleming has used the Mirror to get the Elixir of Life and last year she celebrated her six-hundred and sixty-sixth birthday. _

_Furthermore, the Mirror of Wishes left this clue to those who would or will use it in the Guardians' lands (For there were a series of clues to help people find the Mirror):_

"_Beware and be warned, there's a trick to this clue, _

_Wish for only good will, or no good will come you,_

_For the treasure you seek_

_You may yet come to rue!" _

"See?" said Sian, when Chris, Chrissie and I had finished reading. "The cat must be guarding the Mirror of Wishes which Fleming perfected! I bet she asked Ma to keep it safe for her, because they're friends and she knew someone was after it. That's why she wanted the Mirror out of Fauntrotts!"

"A mirror that makes gold and stops you ever dying!" I said. "No wonder Triphorm's after it! _Anyone_ would want it!"

"And no wonder we couldn't find Fleming in that _Study of Recent Developments in Wizardry_," said Chris. "She's not exactly recent if she's six hundred and sixty-six, is she?"

Next morning in Defence Against the Dark Arts, whilst copying down different ways of treating werewolf bites, me, Chris and Chrissie were still discussing what we would do with a Mirror of Wishes if we had one. It wasn't until Chrissie said she'd buy her own Quidditch team that I remembered about Triphorm and the coming match.

"I'm going to play," I told Chris, Sian and Chrissie. "If I don't, all the Snake-Eyes will think I'm just too scared to face Triphorm. I'll show them … it'll really wipe the smiles off their faces if we win."

"Just as long as we're not wiping you off the pitch," said Sian.

As the match drew nearer and nearer, I became more and more nervous, whatever I told Chris, Sian and Chrissie. The rest of the team weren't too calm, either. The idea of overtaking Snake-Eyes in the House Championship was wonderful, no one had done it for nearly seven years, but would we be allowed to, with such a biased referee?

I didn't know whether I was imagining it or not, but I seemed to keep running into Triphorm wherever I went. At times, I even wondered whether Triphorm was following me, trying to catch me on my own. Potions lessons were turning into a sort of weekly torture for, Triphorm was that horrible to me. Could Triphorm possibly know that we'd found out about the Mirror of Wishes? I didn't see how she could – yet I sometimes had the horrible feeling that Triphorm could read minds.

_Dear Grandmother Sarabi,_

_Sorry that this letter is late, but I'm writing to say that I hope you and Grandmother Sarafina had a happy Christmas. Mine was all right, but I don't want to go into too much detail because it involves me breaking rules – I know, and I'm truly sorry – and something that really scared me, so I won't go too into it._

_Anyhoo, what I wanted to tell you is that I'm sorry, but I accidentally found out what Nicola Fleming worked on – the Mirror of Wishes! You don't have to worry, me and Chris, Sian and Chrissie haven't told anyone about it, and we will keep it secret until all this has blown over. Furthermore, I have a suspicion that my Potions' teacher, Professor Triphorm, keeps following me everywhere, and I don't know why. Plus, she's refereeing my next Quidditch match, which is bad because she's incredibly biased. _

_I've got to go now, Grandmother. Give my love to Grandmother Sarafina as always._

_Lots of love, _

_Kiara _

Grandmother Sarabi got back to me in a couple of days:

_My dearest Kiara,_

_I know it was an accident that you and your friends found out what Fleming worked on, and as long as you keep it a secret, I won't say anything against you, so don't you worry. And as to this Professor Triphorm, she probably has a reason for following you round the school; and as to her refereeing your next Quidditch match, just try not to annoy her, and I say this because of the fact that you told me that she doesn't like you, so try to stay out of her way and you'll be fine. _

_Got to go. Sarafina sends you her love. _

_Lots of love,_

_Grandmother Siaabi _

I actually took my Grandmother's advice about Professor Triphorm – well, tried to at least. Read on to find out what happened.

I knew, when they wished me luck outside the changing rooms the next afternoon, that Chris, Sian and Chrissie were wondering whether they'd ever see me alive again. That wasn't what you would call comforting. I hardly heard a word of Cane's pep talk as I pulled on my Quidditch uniform and picked up my Scoot-Zoomer Two Thousand.

Chris, Sian and Chrissie, meanwhile, had found a place in the stands next to Nikita, who couldn't understand why my three best friends were looking so grim and worried, or why my three best friends had brought their wands to the match. Little did I know at the time – I only found out after the match – that Chris, Sian and Chrissie had been practising the Leg-Locker Curse. They'd got the idea from Malty using it on Nikita, and were planning to use it on Triphorm if she showed any sign of wanting to hurt me.

"Now, don't forget, it's _Locomotor mortis_," Sian muttered, as Chris and Chrissie were slipping their wands up their sleeves.

"I _know_," Chrissie snapped. "Don't nag at us."

"Sian, we know what to do, OK?" said Chris. "Don't worry. We've been doing this for the past few days now. We've got this."

"I know," said Sian. "Just checking to see if you remember, that's all."

Back in the changing room, Cane had taken me aside.

"Don't want to pressure you, Pride-Lander, but if we ever need an early capture of the Snitch it's now. Finish the game before #Triphorm can favour Badger-Stripes too much."

"The whole school's out there!" said Tanya Fang, peering out of the door. "Even – blimey – Crighton's come to watch!"

My heart did a somersault.

"_Crighton?"_ I said, dashing to the door to make sure. Tanya was right. There was no mistaking that brown-going-silver hair.

I could have laughed out loud with relief. I was safe. There was no way that Triphorm would dare try to hurt me if Crighton was watching.

Perhaps that was the reason why Triphorm was looking so angry as the teams marched on to the pitch, something that Chrissie noticed, too.

"I've never seen Triphorm look so mean," she told Chris and Sian. "Look, they're off. Ouch!"

Someone had poked Chrissie in the back of the head. It was Malty.

"Oh, sorry, Dawson, didn't see you there."

Malty grinned broadly at Crate, Gabber and Rae-Bradley.

"Wonder how long Pride-Lander's going to stay on her broom this time? Anyone want a bet? What about you, Dawson?"

Chrissie didn't answer; Triphorm had just awarded Badger-Stripes a penalty because Geri Fang had hit a Bludger at her. Sian, who had all her fingers crossed in her lap, was squinting fixedly at me, who was circling the game like a hawk, squinting for the Snitch.

"You know how I think they choose people for the Lion-Heart team?" said Malty loudly a few minutes later, as Triphorm awarded Badger-Stripes another penalty for no reason at all. "It's people they feel sorry for. You see, there's Pride-Lander who lives with her Grandmothers, maybe Rickers could on the team next because he has no parents – and then after those two, you could be next, Bore, you've got no brains."

Nikita went bright red but turned in her seat to face Malty.

"I'm worth twelve of you, Malty," she said.

Malty, Crate, Gabber and Rae-Bradley howled with laughter, but Chrissie, not daring to take her eyes off me, said, "You tell her, Nikita." And Chris, who wasn't taking his eyes off me either, said, "Nice one, Nikita."

"Bore, if brains were gold, you'd be as poor as Rickers would be if he was living with his parents, and that's saying something."

Chris and Chrissie's nerves were already stretched to breaking point with anxiety about me.

"We're warning you now, Malty –"

"Yeah, one more word –"

"Chris! Chrissie!" said Sian suddenly. "Kiara –!"

"What?"

"Where? Where?"

I had suddenly gone into a spectacular dive, which drew gasps and cheers from the crowd. Sian stood up, her crossed fingers in her mouth, as I streaked towards the ground like a bullet.

"You're in luck, Rickers, Pride-Lander's obviously spotted some money on the ground!" said Malty.

Chris, as well as Chrissie, snapped. Before Malty knew what was happening to her, Chris and Chrissie were on top of her, wrestling her to the ground. Nikita hesitated, then clambered over the back of her seat to help.

"Come on, Kiara!" Sian screamed, leaping on to her seat to watch as I sped straight at Triphorm – she didn't even notice Malty and Chris rolling around under her seat, or the scuffles and yelps coming from the whirl of fists that was Chrissie, Nikita, Crate, Gabber and Rae-Bradley.

Up in the air, Triphorm turned on her broomstick just in time to see something scarlet shoot past her, missing her by inches – next second, I had pulled out of the dive, my arm raised in triumph, the Snitch clasped in my hand.

The stands erupted; it had to be a record, no one could ever remember the Snitch being caught so quickly.

"Chris! Chrissie! Where are you? The game's over! Kiara's won! We've won! Lion-Heart is in the lead!" shrieked Sian, dancing up and down on her seat and hugging Perry Party in the row in front.

I jumped off my broom, a foot from the ground. I couldn't believe it. I'd done it – the game was over; it had barely lasted five minutes. As Lion-Hearts came spilling on to the pitch, I saw Triphorm land nearby, white-faced and tight-lipped – then I felt a hand on my shoulder and looked up into Crighton's smiling face.

"Well done," said Crighton quietly, so that only I could hear. "Nice to see you haven't been brooding about that mirror … been keeping busy … excellent …"

Triphorm spat bitterly on the ground.

0000

I left the changing room alone some time later, to take my Scoot-Zoomer Two Thousand back to the broomshed. I couldn't ever remember feeling happier. I'd really done something to be proud of at that moment in time – no one could ever say that I was nothing more than a famous name anymore. The evening air had never smelled so sweet. I walked over the damp grass, reliving the last hour in my head, which was a happy blur; Lion-Hearts running to lift me on to their shoulders; Chris, Sian and Chrissie in the distance, jumping up and down, Chris was cheering through a heavy nosebleed and Chrissie cheering and wincing because she had a black eye.

I had reached the shed. I leant against the wooden door and looked up at Dragon Mort, with its windows glowing red in the setting sun. Lion-Heart was in the lead. I'd done it, I'd shown Triphorm …

And speaking of Triphorm …

A hooded figure came swiftly down the front steps of the castle. Clearly not wanting to be seen, it walked as fast as possible towards the Black Forest. My victory faded from my mind as I watched. I recognised the figure's prowling walk. Triphorm, sneaking into the Forest whilst everyone else was at dinner – what on earth was going on?

I jumped back on my Scoot-Zoomer Two Thousand and took off. Gliding silently over the castle I saw Triphorm enter the Forest at a run. I followed.

The trees were so thick I couldn't see where Triphorm was going. I flew in circles, lower and lower, brushing the tops of trees until I heard voices. I glided towards them and landed silently in a towering beech tree.

I climbed carefully along one of the branches, holding tight to my broomstick, trying to see through the leaves.

Below, in a shadowy clearing, stood Triphorm, but she wasn't alone. Quarrel was there, too. I couldn't make out the look on her face, but she was stuttering worse than ever. I strained to catch what they were saying.

"… d-don't know why you wanted t-t-to meet me here of all p-places, Tiana …"

"Oh, I thought we'd keep this private," said Triphorm, her voice icy. "Students aren't supposed to know about the Mirror of Wishes, after all."

I leant forward. Quarrel was mumbling something. Triphorm ignored her.

"Have you found out how to get past that beast of Mina's yet?"

"B-b-but Tiana, I –"

"You don't want me as your enemy, Quarrel," said Triphorm, taking a step towards her.

"I-I don-t know what you –"

"You know perfectly well what I mean."

An owl hooted loudly and I nearly fell out of the tree. I steadied myself in time to hear Triphorm say, " – your little bit of hocus pocus. I'm waiting."

"B-but I d-d-don't –"

"Very well," Triphorm cut in. "We'll have another little chat soon, when you've had time to think things over and have decided where your loyalties lie."

She threw her cloak over her head and strode out of the clearing. It was almost dark now, but I could see Quarrel, standing quite still as though she was petrified.

"Kiara, where have you _been_?" Sian squeaked.

"We won! You won! We won!" shouted Chrissie, thumping me on the back. "And Chris gave Malty a black eye and Nikita and me tried to take on Crate, Gabber and Rae-Bradley single-handed! She's still out cold but Matron says she'll be all right – talk abou showing Snake-Eyes! Everyone's waiting for you in the common room, we're having a party, Tanya and Geri stole some cakes and stuff from the kitchens."

"Never mind that now," I said breathlessly. "Let's find an empty room, you wait 'til you hear this …"

I made sure that Weeves wasn't inside before I shut the door behind us, and I told them what I'd seen and heard.

"So we were right, it _is_ the Mirror of Wishes, and Triphorm's trying to force Quarrel to help her get it. She asked if she knew how to get past Cutesy – and she said something about Quarrel's "hocus-pocus" – I reckon there are other things guarding the Mirror apart from Cutesy, loads of enchantments, probably, and Quarrel would have done some anti-Dark Arts spell which Triphorm needs to break through –"

"So you mean the Mirror's only safe as long as Quarrel stands up to Triphorm?" said Sian in alarm.

"It'll be gone by next Tuesday," said Chris.

"We're _doomed_," Chrissie moaned.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

**Norberta the Norwegian Ridgeback **

_Dear Grandmother Sarabi, _

_I did exactly as you said for the Quidditch match, I stayed out of her way, well for the most part anyway, for I had to speed past her to get the Snitch. I caught it and the game was over in five minutes! I couldn't believe it, still can't, in fact. But there's more; for you see, later when everyone was at dinner, I followed Professor Triphorm on my broom into the Forest and I saw her talking to Professor Quarrel about the Mirror. Professor Triphorm is trying to bully Quarrel into revealing how to get past Mina's three-headed cat. I know I shouldn't have followed, but seeing as everyone else was at dinner, you can see why I followed. Send your advice to me soon, please. _

_Give my love to Grandmother Sarafina._

_Lots of love,_

_Kiara _

She replied to this letter a few days later:

_Dearest Kiara, _

_I can see why you followed her in, but you really shouldn't have done that. I know you only want to do what's best, but you really shouldn't have got involved in this, but I suppose it's too late to tell you this now. _

_About Professor Triphorm, I suppose you think she wants to steal the Mirror, but I have to tell you that you're wrong, my child. It's not her, but someone else. You see, Tiana Triphorm wants to make sure that the Mirror is highly guarded and wants to protect it. She was only asking Quarrel about it because someone wants to steal the Mirror and Triphorm's trying to stop them before it's too late. I can't tell you who, but it's someone at the school, and that's all I'm saying. _

_Speak to you soon. Sarafina sends her love. _

_Lots of love, _

_Grandmother Sarabi_

After reading this, I thought that she was mistaken and that Triphorm was trying to steal the Mirror. But it turns out that my grandmother was right, but I'll get to that later. Right now, I'll get on with this part of my story.

Quarrel, however, must have been stronger and braver than we'd first realised. In the weeks that followed she did seem to be getting paler and thinner, but it didn't look as though she'd cracked yet.

Every time we passed the third-floor corridor, me, Chris, Sian and Chrissie would press our ears to the door to check that Cutesy was still growling inside. Triphorm was sweeping about in her usual bad temper, which surely meant that the Mirror was still safe. Whenever I passed Quarrel those days I gave her an encouraging sort of smile, and Chris and Chrissie were telling people off for laughing at Quarrel's stutter.

Sian, on the other hand, had more on her mind than the Mirror of Wishes. She had started drawing up revision time-tables and colour-coding all her notes. Chris, Chrissie and I wouldn't have minded, but she kept nagging us to do the same.

"Sian, the exams are ages away."

"Ten weeks," Sian snapped. "That's not ages, that's like a second to Nicola Fleming."

"But we're not six hundred years old," Chrissie reminded her. "Anyway, what are you revising for, you already know it all."

"What am I revising for? Are you mad? You realise we need to pass these exams to get into the second year? They're very important, I should have started revising a month ago, I don't know what's got into me …"

Unfortunately, the teachers seemed to be thinking along the same lines as Sian. They piled so much homework on us that the Easter holidays weren't nearly as much fun as the Christmas ones. It was hard to relax with Sian next to you reciting the twelve uses of dragon's blood or practising wand movements. Moaning and yawning, Chris, Chrissie and I spent most of our free time in the library with her, trying to get through all our extra work. And what was more, Sian had stopped visiting her mother on weekends so that Sian could get more studying done; furthermore, they only communicated through owl every Saturday.

"I'll never remember this," Chrissie burst out one afternoon, throwing down her quill and looking longingly out of the library window. It was the first really fine day we'd had in months. The sky was a clear, forget-me-not blue and there was a feeling in the air of summer coming.

I was looking up "Dittany" in _One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi_, was busy reading about it, and didn't look up until I heard Chris say, "Mina? What are you doing in the library?"

Mina shuffled into view, hiding something behind her back. She looked very out of place in her moleskin overcoat.

"Jus' lookin'," she said, in a shifty voice that got our interests at once. "An' what're you lot up ter?" she looked suddenly suspicious. "Yer not still lookin' fer Nicola Fleming, are yeh?"

"Oh, we found out who she is ages ago," said Chris impressively. "And we know what that cat's guarding, it's the Mirror of Wish –"

"_Shhhh!"_ Mina looked around quickly to see if anyone was listening. "Don' go shoutin' about it, what's the matter with yeh?"

"There are a few things we wanted to ask you, as a matter of fact," I said, "about what's guarding the Mirror apart from Cutesy –"

"SHHHH!" said Mina again. "Listen – come an' see me later, I'm not promisin' I'll tell yeh anythin', mind, but don' go rabbitin' about it in here, students aren' s'pposed to know. They'll think I've told yeh –"

"See you later, then," I said.

Mina shuffled off.

"What was she hiding behind her back?" said Sian thoughtfully.

"Do you think it had anything to do with the Mirror?"

"I'll go and see what section she was in," said Chrissie, who'd had enough of working. She came back a minute later with a pile of books in her arms and slammed them down on the table.

"_Dragons!" _she whispered. "Mina was looking up stuff about dragons! Look at these: _Dragon Species of Great Britain and Ireland; From Egg to Inferno, A Dragon Keeper's Guide_."

"Mina's always wanted a dragon, she told me so the first time I ever met her," I said.

"But it's against our laws," said Chris, as Chrissie nodded. "Dragon-breeding was outlawed by the Warlocks Convention in 1709, everyone knows that. it's hard to stop Muggles noticing us if we're keeping dragons in the back garden – anyhoo, you can't tame dragons, it's dangerous. You should see the burns Kat's got off wild ones in Romania."

"But there aren't wild ones in _Britain_?" I said.

"Of course there are, Kiara," said Chrissie. "Common Welsh Green and Hebridean Blacks. The Ministry of Magic has a job hushing them up, I can tell you. Our lot have to keep putting spells on Muggles who spot them, to make them forget."

"Then what on earth's Mina up to?" said Sian.

When we knocked on the door of the gamekeeper's hut an hour later, we were surprised to see that all the curtains were closed. Mina called, "Who is it?" before she let us in and then shut the door quickly behind us.

It was stiflingly hot inside. Even though it was such a warm day, there was a blazing fire in the grate. Mina made us tea and offered us stoat sandwiches, which we refused.

"So – yeh wanted to ask me somethin'?"

"Yes," I said. There was no point beating about the bush. "We were wondering if you could tell us what's guarding the Mirror of Wishes apart from Cutesy."

Mina frowned at me.

"O' course I can't," she said. "Number one, I don' know meself. Number two, yeh know too much already, so I wouldn' tell yeh if I could. That Mirror's here fer a good reason. It was almost stolen outta Fauntrotts – I s'ppose yeh've worked that out an' all? Beats me how yeh even know abou' Cutesy."

"Oh, come on, Mina, you might not want to tell us, but you _do_ know, you know everything that goes on round here," said Sian in a warm, flattering voice. Mina's mouth twitched and we could tell she was trying to hide a smile. "We only wondered who had _done_ the guarding, really," Sian went on. "We wondered who Ma had trusted enough to help her, apart from you."

Mina's chest swelled at these last words. Chris, Chrissie and I beamed at Sian.

"Well, I don' s'ppose it could hurt ter tell yeh that … let's see … she borrowed Cutesy from me … then some o' the teachers did enchantments … Professor Spud – Professor Winds – Professor Darbus –" she ticked them off on her fingers, "Professor Quarrel – an' Crighton herself did somethin', o' course. Hang on, I've forgotten someone. Oh yeah, Professor Triphorm."

"_Triphorm?"_

"Yeah – yer not still on abou' that, are yeh? Look, Triphorm helped _protect_ the Mirror, she's not about ter steal it."

I knew that Chris, Sian and Chrissie were thinking the same thing as I was. If Triphorm had been in on protecting the Mirror, it must have been easy to find out how the other teachers had guarded it. She probably knew everything – except, it seemed, Quarrel's spell and how to get past Cutesy.

"You're the only one who knows how to get past Cutesy, aren't you, Mina?" I said anxiously. "And you wouldn't tell anyone, would you? Not even one of the teachers?"

"Not a soul knows except me an' Crighton," said Mina proudly.

"Well, that's something," I muttered to the others. "Mina, can we have a window open? I'm boiling."

"Can't, Kiara, sorry," said Mina. I noticed her glance at the fire. I looked at it, too.

"Mina – what's _that_?"

But I already knew what it was. In the very heart of the fire, underneath the kettle, was a huge, black egg.

"Ah," said Mina, fiddling nervously with a strand of her hair. "That's – er …"

"Where did you get it, Mina?" said Chris, he and Chrissie crouching over the fire to get a closer look at the egg.

"Yeah, it must have cost a fortune," said Chrissie.

"Won it," said Mina. "Las' night. I was down in the village havin' a few drinks an' got into a game o' cards with a stranger. She seemed quite glad ter be rid of it, s'matter o' fact."

"But what are you going to do with it when it's hatched?" said Sian.

"Well, I've bin doin' some readin'," said Mina, pulling a large book from under her pillow. "Got this outta the library – _Dragon-Breeding for Pleasure and Profit_ – it's a bit outta date, o' course, but it's all in here. Keep the egg in the fire, 'cause their mothers breathe on 'em, see, an' when it hatches, feed it on a bucket o' brandy mixed with chicken's blood every half hour. An' see here – how ter recognise diff'rent eggs – what I've got there's a Norwegian Ridgeback. They're rare, them."

She looked very pleased with herself, but Sian didn't.

"Mina, you live in a _wooden house_," she said.

But Mina wasn't listening. She was humming merrily as she stoked the fire.

0000

So now we had something else to worry about: what might happen to Mina if anyone found out she was hiding an illegal dragon in her hut.

"Wonder what it's like to have a peaceful life," Chrissie sighed, as evening after evening we struggled through all our extra homework we were getting. Sian had now started to make revision timetables for me and Chrissie, too. It was driving us mad. Chris had done one for himself, too, so that Sian didn't have to drive him mad and he was a bit of a swot.

Then, one breakfast time, Harold brought me another note from Mina. She had written only two words: _It's hatching_. I hadn't written to Grandmother Sarabi about the dragon because I didn't want her involved in the trouble.

Chris and Chrissie wanted to skip Herbology and go straight down to the hut, but Sian, as their eldest sister, would not hear a word of it.

"Sian, how many times in our lives are we going to see a dragon hatching?" said Chris.

"C'mon sister, lighten up. It's only one lesson, and this is the most exciting thing we've been part of since we've been here," said Chrissie.

"No, I'm not discussing this. I want you to have a good education and have good futures, as does Ma. Besides, we've got lessons, we'll get into trouble, and that's nothing to what Mina's going to be in when someone find's out what she's doing –"

"Shut up!" I whispered.

Malty and Rae-Bradley were only a few feet away and she had stopped dead to listen. How much had they heard? I didn't like the looks on their faces at all.

Chris, Sian and Chrissie argued all the way down to Herbology, and in the end, Sian agreed to run down to Mina's with me and her siblings during break. When the bell sounded from the castle at the end of our lesson, the four of us dropped our trowels at once and hurried through the grounds to the edge of the Forest. Mina greeted us looking flushed and excited.

"It's nearly out." She ushered us inside.

The egg was lying on the table. There were deep cracks in it. Something was moving inside; a funny clicking noise was coming from it.

We all drew our chairs up to the table and watched with bated breath.

All at once there was a scraping noise and the egg split open. The baby dragon flopped on to the table. It wasn't exactly pretty; I thought it looked like a crumpled, black umbrella. It's spiny wings were huge compared to its skinny jet body and it had a long snout with wide nostrils, stubs of horns and bulging, orange eyes.

It sneezed. A couple of sparks flew out of its snout.

"Isn't she _beautiful_?" Mina murmured. She reached out a hand to stroke the dragon's head. It snapped at her fingers, showing pointed fangs.

"Bless her, look, she knows her mummy!" said Mina.

"Mina," said Sian, "how fast do Norwegian Ridgebacks grow, exactly?"

Mina was about to answer when the colour suddenly drained from her face – she leapt to her feet and ran to the window.

"What's the matter?"

"A couple of people were lookin' through the gap in the curtains – two girls – she's runnin' back up ter the school."

I bolted to the door and looked out. Even at a distance there was no mistaking them.

Malty and Rae-Bradley had seen the dragon.

0000

Something about the smiles lurking on Malty and Rae-Bradley's faces during the next week made me, Chris, Sian and Chrissie very nervous. We spent most of our free time in Mina's darkened hut, trying to reason with her.

"Just let her go," I urged. "Set her free."

"I can't," said Mina. "She's too little. She'd die."

We looked at the dragon. It had grown three times in length in just a week. Smoke kept furling out of its nostrils. Mina hadn't been doing her gamekeeping duties because the dragon was keeping her so busy. There were empty brandy bottles and chicken feathers all over the floor.

"I've decided to call her Norberta," said Mina, looking at the dragon with misty eyes. "She really knows me now, watch. Norberta! Norberta! Where's mummy?"

"She's lost her marbles," Chrissie muttered in my ear.

"Mina," I said loudly, "give it a fortnight and Norberta's going to be as long as your house. Malty and Rae-Bradley could go to Crighton at any moment."

Mina bit her lip.

"I – I know I can't keep her for ever, but I can't jus' dump her, I can't."

I suddenly turned to Chrissie.

"Kat," I said.

"You're losing it, too," I said. "I'm Chrissie, remember?"

"No – Kat – your cousin Kat. In Romania. Studying dragons. We could send Norberta to her. Kat can take care of her and then put her back in the wild!"

"Brilliant idea, Kiara!" said Chrissie.

"Yeah, great idea, Kiara!" said Chris. "How about it, Mina?"

And in the end, Mina agreed that we could send an owl to Kat to ask her.

0000

The following week dragged by. Wednesday night found Chris, Sian and I sitting alone in the common room, long after everyone else had gone to bed. The clock on the wall had just chimed midnight when the portrait hole burst open. Chrissie appeared out of nowhere as she pulled off my Invisibility Cloak. She had been down at Mina's hut, helping her feed Norberta, who was now eating dead rats by the crate.

"It bit me!" she said, showing us her hand, which was wrapped in a bloody handkerchief. "I'm not going to be able to hold a quill for a week. I tell you, that dragon's the most horrible animal I've ever met, but the way Mina goes on about it, you'd have thought it was a fluffy little bunny rabbit. When it bit me she told me off for frightening it. And when I left, she was singing it a lullaby."

There was a tap on the dark window.

"It's Harold!" I said, hurrying to let him in. "He'll have Kat's answer!"

The four of us put our heads together to read the note:

_Dear Sian, Chris and Chrissie, _

_How are you? Thanks for the letter – I'd be glad to take the Norwegian Ridgeback, but it won't be easy getting her here. I think the best thing will be to send her over with some friends of mine who are coming to visit me next week. Trouble is, they mustn't be seen carrying an illegal dragon. _

_Could you get the Ridgeback up the tallest tower at midnight on Saturday? They can meet you there and take her away while it's still dark. _

_Send me an answer as soon as possible._

_Love,_

_Kat _

We looked at each other.

"We've got the Invisibility Cloak," I said. "It shouldn't be too difficult – I think the Cloak's big enough to cover three of us and Norberta."

It was a mark of how bad the last week had been that the other three agreed with me. Anything to get rid of Norberta – and Malty and Rae-Bradley, of course.

0000

There was a hitch. By the next morning, Chrissie's bitten hand had swollen to twice its usual size. She didn't know whether it was safe to go to Matron – would she recognise a dragon bite? By midday, she had no choice. The cut had turned a nasty shade of green. It looked as if Norberta's fangs were poisonous.

Chris, Sian and I rushed up to the hospital wing at the end of the day to find Chrissie in a terrible state in bed.

"It's not just my hand," she whispered, "although that feels like it's about to fall off. Malty and Rae-Bradley told Matron they wanted to borrow one of my books so that they could come and have a good laugh at me. They kept threatening to tell her what really bit me – I've told her it was a dog but I don't think she believes me – I shouldn't have hit Rae-Bradley at the Quidditch pitch, that's why they're doing this."

Chris, Sian and I tried to calm Chrissie down.

"It'll all be over at midnight on Saturday," said Sian, but this didn't soothe her sister at all. On the contrary, she sat bolt upright and broke into a sweat.

"Midnight on Saturday!" she said in a hoarse voice. "Oh no – oh no – I've just remembered – Kat's letter was in that book Malty and Rae-Bradley took, they're going to know we're getting rid of Norberta."

Chris, Sian and I didn't get a chance to answer. Matron came over at that moment and made us leave, saying Chrissie needed sleep.

"It's too late to change the plan now," I told Chris and Sian. "We haven't got time to send Kat another owl and this could be our only chance to get rid of Norberta. We'll have to risk it. And we _have _got the Invisibility Cloak, Malty and Rae-Bradley don't know about that."

We found Gnasher the boarhound sitting outside with a bandaged tail when we went to tell Mina, who opened a window to talk to us.

"I won't let you in," she puffed. "Norberta's at a tricky stage – nothin' I can't handle."

When we told her about Kat's letter, her eyes filled with tears, although that might have been because Norberta had just bitten her on the leg.

"Aargh! It's all right, she only got my boot – jus' playin' – she's only a baby, after all."

The baby banged it's tail on the wall, making the windows rattle. Me, Chris and Sian walked back to the castle, feeling Saturday couldn't come quickly enough.

0000

We would have felt sorry for Mina when the time came for her to say goodbye to Norberta if we hadn't been so worried about what we had to do. It was a very dark, cloudy night and we were a bit late arriving at Mina's hut because we'd had to wait for Weeves to get out of our way in the Entrance Hall, where she'd been playing tennis against the wall.

Mina had Norberta packed and ready in a large crate.

"She's got lots o' rats an' some brandy fer the journey," said Mina in a muffled voice. "An' I've packed her teddy bear in case she gets lonely."

From inside the crate came ripping noises that sounded to me as though teddy was having her head torn off.

"Bye-bye, Norberta!" Mina sobbed, as Chris, Sian and I covered the crate with the Invisibility Cloak and stepped underneath it ourselves. "Mummy will never forget you."

How we managed to get the crate back up to the castle, we never knew and still don't know. Midnight ticked nearer as we heaved Norberta up the marble staircase in the Entrance Hall and along the dark corridors. Up another staircase, then another – even one of my short cuts didn't make the work much easier.

"Nearly there!" I panted as we reached the corridor beneath the tallest tower.

Then a sudden movement ahead of us made us almost drop the crate. Forgetting that we were already invisible, we shrank into the shadows, staring at the dark outlines of three people grappling with each other ten feet away. A lamp flared.

Professor Darbus, in a tartan dressing-gown and a hairnet, had Malty by the ear in one hand, and in the other hand had Rae-Bradley by the ear.

"Detention!" she shouted. "And forty points from Snake-Eyes! Wandering around in the middle f the might, how _dare_ you –"

"You don't understand, Professor, Kiara Pride-Lander's coming – she's got a dragon!"

"Dani's right, Professor, Kiara Pride-Lander really does have a dragon!"

"What utter rubbish! How dare you tell such lies! Come on – I shall be telling Professor Triphorm about the both of you, Malty and Rae-Bradley!"

The steep spiral staircase up to the top of the tower seemed the easiest thing in the world after that. not until we'd stepped out into the cold night air did we throw the Cloak off, glad to be able to breathe properly again. Sian did a sort of jig.

"Malty's got detention! I could sing!"

"Don't," Chris and I advised her.

Chuckling about Malty, we waited, Norberta thrashing about in her crate. About four minutes later, four broomsticks came swooping down out of the darkness.

Kat's friends were a cheery lot. They showed Chris, Sian and I the harness they'd rigged up, so they could suspend Norberta between them. We all helped Norberta safely into it and then Chris, Sian and I shook hands with the others and we thanked them very much.

At last, Norberta was going … going … _gone_.

We slipped back down the spiral staircase, our hearts as light as our hands, now that Norberta was off them. No more dragon – Malty and Rae-Bradley in detention – what could spoil our happiness?

The answer to that was waiting at the foot of the stairs. As we stepped into the corridor, Match's face loomed suddenly out of the darkness.

"Well, well, well," he whispered, "we _are_ in trouble."

We'd left the Invisibility Cloak on top of the tower.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

**The Black Forest**

Things couldn't have been worse.

Match took us down to Professor Darbus' study on the first floor, where we sat and waited without saying a word to each other. Sian was trembling. Excuses, alibis and wild cover-up stories chased each other around my brain, each more feeble than the last. I couldn't see how we were going to get out of trouble this time. We were cornered. How could we have been so stupid as to forget the Invisibility Cloak? There was no reason on earth that Professor Darbus would accept for our being out of bed and creeping around the school in the dead of night, let alone being up the tallest astronomy tower, which was out-of-bounds except for classes. Add Norberta and the Invisibility Cloak and we might as well have been packing our bags already.

Had I thought that things couldn't have been worse? I had been wrong. When Professor Darbus appeared, she was leading Nikita.

"Kiara!" she burst out, the moment she saw Chris, Sian and I. "I was trying to find you to warn you, I heard Malty and Rae-Bradley saying they were trying to catch you out, they said you had a drag – "

I shook my head violently to shut Nikita up, but Professor Darbus had seen. She looked more likely to breathe fire than Norberta as she towered over the four of us.

"I would never have believed it of any of you. Mr Match says you were up the astronomy tower. It's one o' clock in the morning. _Explain yourselves._"

It was the first time Sian had ever failed to answer a teacher's question. She was staring at her slippers, as still as a statue.

"I think I've got a good idea of what's been going on," said Professor Darbus. "It doesn't take a genius to work it out. You fed Dani Malty and Keziah Rae-Bradley some cock-and-bull story about a dragon, trying to get them out of bed and into trouble. I've already caught them. I suppose you think it's funny that Bore heard the story and believed it, too?"

I caught Nikita's eye and tried to tell her without words that this wasn't true, because Nikita was looking stunned and hurt. Poor, blundering Nikita – I knew what it must have cost her to try and find us in the dark, and warn us.

"I'm disgusted!" said Professor Darbus. "Four students out of bed in one night! I've never heard of such a thing before! You, Miss Dawson and you, Mr Rickers, I thought you both had more sense than this, especially after all the things your mother had told me about you, Miss Dawson. As for you, Miss Pride-Lander, I thought Lion-Heart meant more to you than this. All four of you will receive detentions – yes, you too, Miss Bore, _nothing_ gives you the right to walk around the school at night, especially these days, it's dangerous – and fifty points will be taken from Lion-Heart."

"_Fifty?"_ I gasped – we would lose the lead, the lead I'd won in the last Quidditch match.

"Fifty points _each_," said Professor Darbus, breathing heavily through her long pointed nose.

"Miss D, no –"

"Professor – please –"

"You _can't_ – "

"Don't tell me what I can and can't do, Pride-Lander. Now get back to bed, all of you. I've never been more ashamed of Lion-Heart students."

Two hundred points lost. That put Lion-Heart in last place. In one night, we'd ruined any chance Lion-Heart had had for the House Cup. I felt as though the bottom had dropped out of my stomach. How could we ever make up for this?

I didn't sleep all night. I could hear Sian muffling her sobs because of the fact she's emotionally strong, and I didn't say anything to her from that moment to the present day. I couldn't think of anything to say to comfort her. I knew that Sian, like me, was dreading dawn. What would happen when the rest of Lion-Heart found out what we'd done?

At first, Lion-Hearts passing the giant hour-glasses that recorded the house points next day thought there'd been a mistake. How could we suddenly have two hundred points fewer than yesterday? And then the story started to spread: Kiara Pride-Lander, the famous Kiara Pride-Lander, their hero of two Quidditch matches, had lost them all those points, me and a few other stupid first-years.

From being one of the most popular and admired people at the school, I was suddenly the most hated. Even Raven-Wings and Badger-Stripes turned on me, because everyone had been longing to see Snake-Eyes lose the House Cup. Everywhere I went, people pointed and didn't trouble to lower their voices as they insulted me. Snake-Eyes, on the other hand, clapped as I walked past them, whistling and cheering, "Thanks Pride-Lander, we owe you one!"

Even Grandmother Sarabi got involved. She didn't know the story of the dragon, but it looked like Darbus had written to her and told her what happened. I got a letter from her about four days later:

_My dearest Kiara, _

_Just when I tell you to keep out of trouble, you don't listen to me. Two hundred points lost and a detention. I'm very disappointed in you, Kiara! I wanted you to do well and make friends, and then you go and do something like this! I'm glad you're not expelled, obviously, but me and Sarafina expected better of you than this! We raised you better than this, too, for that matter! I hope you won't do anything like this again, young lady, I really do!_

_I'll be in touch with you soon. Sarafina sends you her love. And please, for both your grandmother's sakes, do try to stay out of trouble, won't you? And do keep in touch. _

_Love,_

_Grandmother Sarabi_

Only Chrissie stood by me.

"They'll all forget this in a few weeks. Tanya and Geri told us that they've lost loads of points in all the time they've been here, and people still like them."

"They've never lost two hundred points in one go, though, have they?" I said miserably.

"Well – no," Chrissie admitted.

It was a bit late to repair the damage, but I swore to myself not to meddle in things that weren't my business from now on. I'd had it with sneaking around and spying. I felt so ashamed of myself that I went to Cane and offered to resign from the Quidditch team.

"_Resign?"_ Cane thundered. "What good'll that do? How are we going to get any points back if we can't win at Quidditch?"

But even Quidditch had lost its fun for me. The rest of the team wouldn't speak to me during practice, and if they had to speak about me, they called me "the Seeker".

Chris, Sian and Nikita were suffering, too. They didn't have as bad a time as me, because they weren't as well known, but nobody would speak to them either. Sian had stopped drawing attention to herself in class, keeping her head down and working in silence.

I was almost glad that the exams weren't far away. All the revision I had to do kept my mind off my misery. Chris, Sian, Chrissie and I kept to ourselves, working late into the night, trying to remember the ingredients in complicated potions, learn charms and spells off by heart, memorise the dates of magical discoveries and goblin rebellions …

Then, about a week before the exams were due to start, my new resolution not to interfere in anything that didn't concern me was put to an unexpected test. I remember I was walking back from the library on my own one afternoon, I heard someone whimpering from a classroom up ahead. As I drew closer, I heard Quarrel's voice.

"No – no – not again, please –"

It sounded to me as though someone was threatening her. I moved closer.

"All right – all right –" I heard Quarrel sob.

Next second, Quarrel came hurrying out of the classroom, straightening her turban. She was pale and looked as though she was about to cry. She strode out of sight; I didn't think Quarrel had even noticed her. I waited until Quarrel's footsteps had disappeared, then peered into the classroom. It was empty, but a door stood ajar at the other end. I was halfway towards it before I remembered what I'd promised myself about not meddling.

All the same, I'd have given twelve Mirrors' of Wishes that Triphorm had just left the room, and from what I had just heard, Triphorm was walking with a new spring in her step – Quarrel seemed to have given in at last.

I went back to the library, where Sian was testing Chris and Chrissie on Astronomy. I told them what I'd heard.

"Triphorm's done it, then!" said Chris. "If Quarrel's told her how to break through her Anti-Dark Arts spell –"

"There's still Cutesy, though," said Sian.

"Maybe Triphorm's found out how to get past her without asking Mina," said Chrissie, looking up at the thousands of books surrounding us. "I bet there's a book somewhere in here, telling you how to get past a giant three-headed cat. So what do we do, Kiara?"

The light of adventure was kindling in Chris and Chrissie's eyes, but Sian answered before I could.

"Go to Ma. That's what we should have done ages ago. If we try anything ourselves we'll be thrown out for sure."

"But we've got no _proof_!" I said. "Quarrel's too scared to back us up. Triphorm's only got to say she doesn't know how the troll got in at Hallowe'en and that she was nowhere near the third floor – who do you think they'll believe, she or us? It's not exactly a secret we hate her, Crighton will think we made it up to get her sacked. Match wouldn't help us if his life defended on it, he's too friendly with Triphorm, and the more students get thrown out, the better, he'll think. And don't forget, we're not supposed to know about the Mirror or Cutesy. That'll take a lot of explaining."

Sian looked convinced, but Chris and Chrissie didn't.

"If we just do a bit of poking around –"

"Yeah, I mean, we'll find something if we do poke around a bit –"

"No," I said flatly, "we've done enough poking around."

I pulled a map of Jupiter towards me and started to learn the names of its moons.

0000

The following morning, notes were delivered to Chris, Sian, Nikita and I at the Lion-Heart table. They were all the same:

_Your detention will take place at eleven o'clock tonight. Meet Mr Match in the Entrance Hall. _

_Prof. D. Darbus_

I had forgotten we still had detentions to do in the furore over the points we'd lost. I half expected Sian to complain that this was a whole night of revision lost, and Chris to tell her to shut up, but they didn't say a word. Like me, they felt they deserved what they got.

At eleven o'clock that night we said goodbye to Chrissie in the common room and went down to the entrance hall with Nikita. Match was already there – as were Malty and Rae-Bradley. I had also forgotten that Malty and Rae-Bradley had got detentions, too.

"Follow me," said Match, lighting a lamp and leading us outside. "I bet you'll think twice before breaking a school rule again, won't you, eh?" he continued, leering at us. "Oh yes … hard work and pain are the best teachers if you ask me … It's just a pity they let the old punishments die out … hang you by your wrists from the ceiling for a few days, I've got the chains still in my office, keep 'em well oiled in case they're ever needed … Right, off we go, and don't think of running off, now, for it'll be worse for you if you do."

We marched off across the dark grounds. Nikita kept sniffing. I wondered what our punishment was going to be. It must be something really horrible, or Matchstick wouldn't have sounded so delighted – well it was something horrible and frightening for me, as you will see.

The moon was bright, but clouds scudding across it kept throwing us into darkness. Ahead, I could see the lighted windows of Mina's hut. Then we heard a distant shout.

"Is that you, Match? Hurry up, I want ter get started."

My heart rose; if we were going to be working with Mina it wouldn't be so bad. My relief must have shown on my face, for Match said, "I suppose you think you'll be enjoying yourself with that oaf? Well, think again, girl – it's into the Forest you're going and I'm much mistaken if you'll all come out in one piece."

At this, Nikita let out a little moan and Malty and Rae-Bradley stopped dead in their tracks.

"The Forest?" Malty repeated, and she didn't sound quite as cool as usual. "We can't go in there –"

"Yeah, students aren't allowed," said Rae-Bradley, and this was the first time I had heard her voice; it was surprisingly soft and, at times, can sound kind, as in later years I found out. "Besides, there are all sorts of things in there – werewolves, me and my cousin heard."

"That's your lookout, isn't it?" said Match, his voice cracking with glee. "Should've thought of them werewolves before you got in trouble, shouldn't you?"

Mina came striding towards us out of the dark, Gnasher at her heel. She was carrying her large crossbow, and a quiver of arrows hung over her shoulder.

"Abou' time," she said. "I've bin waitin' fer half an hour already. All right Kiara, Chris, Sian?"

"I shouldn't be too friendly to them, Mina," said Match coldly, "they're here to be punished, after all."

"That's why yer late, is it?" said Mina, frowning at Match. "Bin lecturin' them, eh? Snot your place ter do that. Yeh've done yer bit, I'll take over from here."

"I'll be back at dawn," said Match, "for what's left of them," he added nastily, and he turned and started back towards the castle, his lamp bobbing away in the darkness.

Malty and Rae-Bradley now turned to Mina.

"I'm not going in there," she said, a note of panic in her voice which I was pleased to hear and Rae-Bradley nodding at her side.

"Yeh are if yeh want ter stay at Dragon Mort," said Mina fiercely. "Yeh've done wrong an' now yeh've got ter pay fer it."

"But this is servant stuff, it's not for students to do," said Rae-Bradley. "Me and Dani thought we'd be writing lines or something. If my aunt Naomi knew we were doing this she'd –"

" – tell yer how it is at Dragon Mort," Mina growled. "Writin' lines! What good's that ter anyone? Yeh'll do summat useful or yeh'll get out. if yeh think yer aunt'd rather you were expelled, then get back off to the castle an' pack, the pair o' yeh. Go on!"

Malty and Rae-Bradley didn't move. They looked at Mina furiously but then dropped their gaze, but Sian wasn't going to leave it at that, oh no.

"You know, I've really had it with you two!" she said, and Malty and Rae-Bradley looked up at her. "I've met people like you before, who act all big and hard on the outside, but you know what they are on the inside?" Malty and Rae-Bradley shook their heads. "Well, I'll tell you what they are on the inside – they're cowards, you hear me, cowards at heart who are not good for anyone! Now, Kiara, Chris and I,Nikita too - even though it wasn't her fault she got into trouble – anyhoo, the point is, we know we've done wrong, but we're going to put it right by doing this detention. So suck it up, shut up, and let's get this thing done!" She then turned back to face Mina and left the rest of us speechless.

I looked at Chris and Chrissie in shocked and just mouthed the word "Wow" at them. They both looked smug (for apparently this was something that their sister did a lot), and looked at me with a look that clearly said, "We know, and we're cool with it, for our eldest sister is awesome. I then turned to Mina, who looked just as shocked as I did, but was also trying not to laugh. After Mina had got over this and had taken control of her laughter, she shook her head and said, "Right then. Now, listen carefully, 'cause it's dangerous what we're gonna do tonight an' I don' want no one takin' risks. Follow me over here a moment."

She led us to the very edge of the Forest. Holding her lamp up high she pointed down a narrow, winding earth track that disappeared into the black trees. A light breeze lifted our hair as we looked into the Forest.

"Look there," said Mina, "see that stuff shinin' on the ground? Silvery stuff? That's unicorn blood? There's a unicorn in there bin hurt badly by summat. This is the second time in a week. I found one dead last Wednesday. We're gonna try an' find the poor thing. We might have ter put it out of its misery."

"And what if whatever hurt the unicorn finds us first?" said Malty, unable to keep the fear out of her voice.

"There's nothin' that lives in the Forest that'll hurt yeh if yer with me or Gnasher," said Mina. "An' keep ter the path. Right, now, we're gonna split inter two parties an' follow the trail in diff'rent directions. There's blood all over the place, it must've bin staggerin' around since last night at least."

"We want Gnasher," said Rae-Bradley, pointing to herself and Malty, who was nodding in agreement with her cousin, the two of them looking at Gnasher's long teeth.

"All right, but I warn yeh, she's a coward," said Mina. "So Kiara, Chris, Sian and I'll go one way an' Dani, Keziah, Nikita and Gnasher'll go the other. Now, if any of us finds the unicorn, we'll send up green sparks, right? Get yer wands out an' practise, now – that's it – an' if anyone gets in trouble, send up red sparks, an' we'll come an' find yeh – so, be careful – let's go."

The Forest was black and silent. A little way into it we reached a fork in the earth path and Chris, Sian, Mina and I took the left path while Malty, Rae-Bradley, Nikita and Gnasher took the right.

We walked in silence, our eyes on the ground. Every now and then a ray of moonlight through the branches above lit a spot of silver blood on the fallen leaves.

I saw that Mina looked very worried.

"_Could_ a werewolf be killing the unicorns?" I asked.

"Not fast enough," said Mina. "It's not easy ter catch a unicorn, they're powerful magical creatures. I never knew one ter be hurt before."

We walked past a mossy tree-stump. I heard running water; there must have been a stream somewhere close by. There were still spots of unicorn blood here and there along the winding path.

"You all right, Sian?" Mina whispered. "Don' worry, it can't've gone far if it's this badly hurt and then we'll be able ter – GET BEHIND THAT TREE!"

Mina seized Chris, Sian and I and hoisted us off the path behind a towering oak. She pulled out an arrow and fitted it into her crossbow, raising it, ready to fire. The four of us listened. Something was slithering over dead leaves nearby; it sounded like a cloak trailing along the ground. Mina was squinting up the dark path, but after a few seconds, the sound faded away.

"I knew it," she murmured. "There's summat in here that shouldn' be."

"A werewolf?" I suggested.

"That wasn' no werewolf an' it wasn' no unicorn, neither," said Mina grimly. "Right, follow me, but careful, now."

We walked more slowly, ears straining for the faintest sound. Suddenly, in a clearing ahead, something definitely moved.

"Who's there?" Mina called. "Show yerself – I'm armed!"

And into the clearing stepped forth – was it a woman, or was it a horse? To the waist, a woman, with red hair and a waistcoat made out of animal skins covered her waist, but below that was a horse's gleaming chestnut body with a long, reddish tail. Mine, Chris and Sian's jaws dropped.

"Oh, it's you, Rowan," said Mina in relief. "How are yeh?"

She walked forward and shook the centaur's hand.

"Good evening to you, Mina," said Rowan. She had a mystical, sorrowful voice. "Were you going to shoot me?"

"Can't be too careful, Rowan," said Mina, patting her crossbow. "There's summat bad loose in this Forest. This is Kiara Pride-Lander, Chris Rickers and Sian Dawson, by the way. Students up at the school. An' this is Rowan, you three. She's a centaur."

"We've noticed," said Sian, in a "well, durr" sort of voice.

"Good evening," said Rowan. "Students, are you? Ah, yes, I can see you are the eldest-Dawson girl. You look so much like your mother, and yet there are some minor differences between you and her. The stars told us that we would soon meet …"

"They did?" Sian asked, surprised.

"Yes, they did," said Rowan. "So, back to you students. Do you learn much, up at the school?"

"Er –"

"Well –"

"We learn a bit," said Sian smoothly.

"A bit. Well, that's something." Rowan sighed. She flung back her head and stared at the sky. "Mars is bright tonight."

"Yeah," said Mina, glancing up too. "Listen, I'm glad we've run inter yeh, Rowan, 'cause there's a unicorn bin hurt – you seen anythin'?"

Rowan didn't answer immediately. She stared unblinkingly upwards, then sighed again.

"Always the innocent are the first victims," she said. "So it has been for ages past, so it is now."

"Yeah," said Mina, "but have yeh seen anythin', Rowan? Anythin' unusual?"

"Mars is bright tonight," Rowan repeated while Mina watched her impatiently. "Unusually bright."

"Yeah, but I was meanin' anythin' unusual a bit nearer home," said Mina. "So yeh haven't noticed anythin' strange?"

Yet again, Rowan took a while to answer. At last, she said, "The Forest hides many secrets."

A movement in the trees behind Rowan made Mina raise her crossbow again, but it was only a second centaur, black-haired and -bodied and wilder-looking than Rowan.

"Hullo, Basha," said Mina. "All right?"

"Good evening, Mina, I hope you are well?"

"Well enough. Look, I've jus' bin askin' Rowan, you seen anythin' odd in here lately? Only there's a unicorn bin injured – would yeh know anythin' about it?"

Basha walked over to stand next to Rowan. She looked skywards.

"Mars is bright tonight," she said simply.

"We've heard," said Mina grumpily. "Well, if either of you do see anythin', let me know, won't yeh? We'll be off, then."

Chris, Sian and I followed Mina out of the clearing, staring back over our shoulders at Rowan and Basha until the trees blocked our view.

"Never," said Mina irritably, "try an' get a straight answer out of a centaur. Ruddy star-gazers. Not interested in anythin' closer'n the moon."

"Are there many of _them_ in here?" asked Sian.

"Oh, a fair few … Keep themselves to themselves mostly, but they're good enough about turnin' up if ever I want a word. They're deep, mind, centaurs … they know things … jus' don' let on much."

"Do you think that was a centaur we heard earlier?" I said.

"Did that sound like hooves to you? Nah, if you ask me, that was what's bin killin' the unicorns – never heard anythin' like it before."

We walked on through the dense, dark trees. I kept looking nervously over my shoulder. I had a nasty feeling that we were being watched. I was very glad that we had Mina and her crossbow with us. We had just past a bend in the path when Sian grabbed Mina's arm.

"Mina! Look! Red sparks, the others are in trouble!"

"You three wait here!" Mina shouted. "Stay on the path, I'll come back for yeh!"

We heard her crashing away through the undergrowth and stood looking at one-another, very scared, until we couldn't hear anything but the rustling of leaves around us.

"You don't think they've been hurt, do you?" whispered Sian.

"I don't care if Malty and Rae-Bradley have, but if something's got Nikita … It's our fault she's here in the first place," I said.

"I'm with Kiara," said Chris. "I hope Nikita's OK."

The minutes dragged by. Our ears seemed sharper than usual. Mine seemed to be picking up every sigh of the wind, every cracking twig. What was going on? Where were the others?

At last, a great crunching noise announced Mina's return. Malty, Rae-Bradley, Nikita and Gnasher were with her. Mina was fuming. Apparently, Malty and Rae-Bradley had sneaked up behind Nikita and grabbed her for a joke. Nikita had panicked and sent up the sparks.

"We'll be lucky ter catch anythin' now, with the racket you three were makin'. Right, we're changin' groups – Nikita, you stay with me, Chris and Sian, Kiara, you go with these two idiots and Gnasher. I'm sorry," she added in a whisper to me, "but they'll have a harder time frightenin' you, an' we've gotta get this done."

So I set off into the heart of the Forest with Malty, Rae-Bradley and Gnasher. We walked for nearly half an hour, walking deeper and deeper into the Forest, until the path became almost impossible to follow because the trees were so thick. I thought the blood seemed to be getting thicker. There were splashes on the roots of a tree, as though the poor creature had been thrashing around in pain close by. I could see a clearing ahead, through the tangled branches of an ancient oak.

"Look –" I murmured, holding out my arm to stop Malty and Rae-Bradley.

Something bright white was gleaming on the ground. We inched closer.

It was the unicorn all right, and it was dead. I had never seen anything so beautiful and sad. Its long slender legs were stuck out at odd angles where it had fallen and its mane was spread pearly white on the dark leaves.

I had taken one step towards it when a slithering sound made me freeze where I stood. A bush on the edge of the clearing quivered … Then, out of the shadows, a hooded figure came crawling across the ground like some stalking beast. Me, Malty, Rae-Bradley and Gnasher stood transfixed. The cloaked figure reached the unicorn, it lowered its head over the wound in the animal's side, and began to drink its blood.

"AAAAAAAAAAARGH!"

Malty and Rae-Bradley simultaneously let out terrible screams and bolted – so did Gnasher. The hooded figure raised its head and looked at me – unicorn blood was dribbling down its front. It got to its feet and came swiftly towards me – I couldn't move for fear.

Then a pain pierced my head like I'd never felt before, it was as though my scar was on fire – half-blinded, I staggered backwards. I heard hooves behind me, galloping, and something jumped clean over me, charging at the figure.

The pain in my head was so bad I fell to my knees. It took a minute or two to pass. When I looked up, the figure had passed. A centaur was standing over me, not Rowan or Basha; this one looked younger; she had white-blonde hair and a palomino body.

"Are you all right?" said the centaur, pulling me to my feet.

"Yes – thank you – what _was_ that?"

The centaur didn't answer. She had astonishingly blue eyes, like sapphires. She looked carefully at me, her eyes lingering on the scar which stood out, livid, on my forehead.

"You are the Pride-Lander girl," she said. "You had better get back to Mina. The Forest is not safe at this time – especially for you. Can you ride? It will be quicker this way.

"My name is Fauna," she added, as she lowered herself on to her front legs so that I could clamber on to her back.

There was suddenly a sound of more galloping from the other side of the clearing. Rowan and Basha came bursting through the trees, their flanks heaving and sweaty.

"Fauna!" Basha thundered. "What are you doing? You have a human on your back! Have you no shame? Are you a common mule?"

"Do you realise who this is?" said Fauna. "This is the Pride-Lander girl. The quicker she leaves this Forest, the better."

"What have you been telling her?" growled Basha. "Remember, Fauna, we are sworn not to set ourselves against the heavens. Have we not read what is to come in the movements of the planets?"

Rowan pawed the ground nervously.

"I'm sure Fauna thought she was acting for the best," she said, in her gloomy voice.

Basha kicked her back legs in anger.

"For the best! What is that to do with us? Centaurs are concerned with what has been foretold! It is not our business to run around like donkeys after stray humans in our Forest!"

Fauna suddenly reared on to her hind legs in anger, so that I had to grab her shoulders to stay on.

"Do you not see that unicorn?" Fauna bellowed at Basha. "Do you not understand why it was killed? Or have the planets not let you in on that secret? I set myself against what is working in this Forest, Basha, yes, with humans alongside me if I must."

And Fauna whisked around; with me clutching on as best as I could, we plunged off into the trees, leaving Rowan and Bane behind us.

I didn't have a clue what was going on at the time, of course.

"Why's Basha so angry?" I asked. "What was that thing you saved me from, anyway?"

Fauna slowed to a walk, warning me to keep my head bowed in case of low-hanging branches but did not answer my question. We made our way through the trees in silence for so long that I thought Fauna didn't want to talk to me any more. We were passing through a particularly dense patch of trees, however, when Fauna suddenly stopped.

"Kiara Pride-Lander, do you know what unicorn blood is used for?"

"No," I said, startled by the odd question. "We've only used the horn and tail-hair in Potions."

"That is because it is a monstrous thing, to slay a unicorn," said Fauna. "Only one who has nothing to lose, and everything to gain, would commit such a crime. The blood of a unicorn will keep you alive, even if you are an inch from death, but at a terrible price. You have slain something pure and defenceless to save yourself and you will have but a half life, a cursed life, from the moment the blood touches your lips."

I stared at the back of Fauna's head, which was dappled silver in the moonlight.

"But who'd be that desperate?" I wondered aloud. "If you're going to be cursed for ever, death's better, isn't it?"

"It is," Fauna agreed, "unless all you need to stay alive long enough to drink something else – something that will bring you back to full strength and power – something that will mean you can never die. Miss Pride-Lander, do you know what is hidden in the school at this very moment?"

"The Mirror of Wishes! Of course – you can wish for the Elixir of Life! But I don't understand who –"

"Can you think of nobody who has waited many years to return to power, who has clung to life, awaiting their chance?"

It was as though an iron fist had clenched suddenly around my heart. Over the rustling of the trees, I suddenly seemed to hear once more the words that Grandmother Sirabi told me the day we went to Brickabon Alley: "Well, some say she died. Codswallop, in my opinion. Me, Mina and a few others think that she's still out there now, too tired to carry on."

"Do you mean," I croaked, "that was _Zi_ –"

"Kiara! Kiara, are you all right?"

Sian was running towards us down the path, Mina puffing along behind her.

"I'm fine," I said, hardly knowing what I was saying because I was so scared. "The unicorn's dead, Mina, it's in that clearing back there."

"This is where I leave you," Fauna murmured as Mina hurried off to examine the unicorn. "You are safe now."

I slid off her back.

"Good luck, Kiara Pride-Lander," said Fauna. "The planets have been read wrongly before now, even by centaurs. I hope this is one of those times."

She turned and cantered back into the depths of the Forest, leaving me shivering behind her.

0000

Chrissie had fallen asleep in the dark common room, waiting for us to return. She shouted something about Quidditch fouls when I roughly shook her awake. In a matter of seconds, though, she was wide-eyed as I began to tell she, Chris and Sian what had happened in the Forest.

I couldn't sit down. I was pacing up and down in front of the fire and I was shaking.

"Triphorm wants the Mirror for Zira … and Zira's waiting in the Forest … and all this time we thought that Triphorm just wanted to get rich …"

"Stop saying the name!" said Chrissie in a terrified whisper, as if she thought Zira could hear us.

I wasn't listening.

"Fauna saved me, but she shouldn't have done … Basha was furious … she was talking about interfering with what the planets say is going to happen … They must show that Zira's coming back … Basha thinks Fauna should have let Zira kill me … I suppose that's written in the stars as well."

"_Will you stop saying the name?"_ Chris hissed.

"So all I've got to wait for now is for Triphorm to steal the Mirror," I went on feverishly, "then Zira will be able to come back and finish me off … Well, I suppose Basha'll be happy."

Sian looked comfort, but she did have a small word of comfort to give me.

"Kiara, everyone says that my mother, Susan Crighton was the only one She-You-Know was ever afraid of. With Ma around, She-You-Know won't touch you. I know it's small comfort, but it is true, nonetheless. Anyway, who says the centaurs are right? It sounds like fortune-telling to me, and Professor Darbus says that's a very imprecise branch of magic."

The sky had turned light before we stopped talking. We went to bed exhausted, our throats sore. But the night's surprises weren't over – well, not for me, anyway.

When I pulled back my sheets, I found my the thin silver baton on my bed. I picked it up, squeezed the middle, and just like on Christmas morning, my Invisibility Cloak shot out of it, but this time it was folded up neatly. I thought that this was odd, because it usually just lay crumpled on the floor. Anyhoo, I picked it up and unfolded it, and a note fell out of it. I picked up the note and read it. There were just these three words on it:

_Just in case._


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

**Through the Trapdoor**

_My dear Grandmother Sarabi,_

_I don't want to worry you, but while I was in the Black Forest doing detention, I almost got killed by Lady Zira, who was covered in a cloak and was drinking the blood of a unicorn. I'm all right, shaken, of course, but all right. A centaur by the name of Fauna saved me, which I'm very relieved of. Look, I know it was my fault in the first place for getting a detention because I was out of bed after hours, but I did it and I'm safe now. I thought I'd let you know what happened._

_Got to go and revise. Give my love to Grandmother Sarafina. Be in touch soon. Love you lots,_

_Kiara _

She got back to me in a couple of days. This is what she said:

_My dearest Kiara,_

_Yes you are right, it was your fault you got a detention in the first place, but I am very glad to hear that you are not harmed by Zira in any way. That was a very close escape. If you ever see that centaur again, tell her from me that I said thank you for saving your life and I will never forget it. It's good to know that you are safe and sound. _

_What you've got to do now, my darling, is keep your wits about you. Keep your head down and try not to get in any more trouble. And most important of all, please, PLEASE for my sake and Sarafina's too, keep yourself safe, please!_

_Got to go. I'll see you very soon. Sarafina sends you her love. _

_See you in a few weeks._

_Lots of love,_

_Grandmother Sarabi_

Now on with this chapter.

In years to come – even now, as I'm writing this and probably to the day I die – I never can quite remember how I had managed to get through my exams when I half expected Zira to come bursting through the door at any moment. Yet the days crept by and there could be no doubt that Cutesy was still alive and well behind the locked door.

It was swelteringly hot, especially in the large classroom where we did our written papers. We had been given special, new quills for the exam, which had been bewitched with an Anti-Cheating spell.

We had practical exams as well. Professor Winds called us one by one into her class to see if we could make a pineapple tap-dance across the desk. Professor Darbus watched us turn a mouse into a snuff-box – points were given for how pretty the snuff-box was, but taken away if it had whiskers. Triphorm was the worst, though; she made us all nervous by breathing down our necks while we tried to remember how to make a Forgetfulness Potion.

I did the best I could, trying to ignore the stabbing pains in my forehead which had been bothering me ever since my trip into the Forest. Nikita thought I had a bad case of exam nerves because I couldn't sleep – I told Chrissie, Sian and Chris about it when we were walking back to the common room and Nikita had overheard – but the truth was that I was being kept woken by my old nightmare, except that it was now worse than ever before because there was a hooded figure dripping blood in it.

Maybe it was because they hadn't seen what I had seen in the Forest, or because they didn't have scars burning on their foreheads, but Chrissie, Sian and Chris weren't as worried about the Mirror as me. The idea of Zira certainly scared them, but she didn't keep visiting them in dreams, and we were so busy with our revision that we didn't have much time to fret about Triphorm or anyone else might be up to.

Our very last exam was History of Magic. One hour of answering questions about batty old wizards who'd invented self-stirring cauldrons and we'd be free, free for a whole wonderful week until our exam results came out. When the ghost of Professor Yawn told us to put down our quills and roll up our parchment, I couldn't help cheering with the others.

"That was far easier than I though it would be," said Sian, as we joined the crowds flocking out into the sunny grounds. "I needn't have learnt about the 1637 Werewolf Code of Conduct or the uprising of Elfric the Eager."

Sian always liked talking about our exam papers afterwards, but Chrissie said it made her feel ill, but Chris didn't mind, so we wandered down to the lake and flopped under a tree, Chris and Sian muttering about the questions they liked and struggled on. The Fang twins and Leah Jones were tickling the tentacles of the giant squid, which was basking in the warm shallows.

"No more revision," Chrissie sighed happily, stretching out on the grass. "You could look more cheerful, Kiara, we've got a week before we find out how badly we've done, there's no need to worry yet."

I was rubbing my forehead.

"I wish I knew what this _means_!" I burst out angrily. "My scar keeps burning – it's happened before, but never as often as this."

"Go to Matron," Sian suggested.

"I'm not ill," I said. "I think it's a warning … it means dangers coming …"

Chrissie and Chris couldn't get worked up, it was too hot.

"Kiara, relax, Sian's right, the Mirror's safe as long as Ma's around," said Chris. "Anyway, we've never had any proof Triphorm found out how to get past Cutesy. She nearly had her leg ripped off once, she's not going to try it again in a hurry. And Nikita will play Quidditch for England before Mina lets Ma down."

I nodded, but I couldn't shake off the feeling that there was something I'd forgotten to do, something important. When I tried to explain this, Sian said, "That's just the exams. I woke up last night and was halfway through my Transfiguration notes before I remembered we'd done that one."

I was quite sure the unsettled feeling didn't have anything to do with work, though. I watched an owl flutter towards the school across the bright blue sky, a note clamped in its mouth. Apart from Grandmother Sirabi, Mina was the only one who ever sent me letters. Mina would never betray Crighton. Mina would never tell anyone how to get past Cutesy … never … but –

I suddenly jumped to my feet.

"Where're you going?" said Chrissie sleepily.

"I've just thought of something," I said. I felt all the colour drain from my face. "We've got to go and see Mina, now."

"Why?" panted Sian, hurrying to keep up with me.

"Don't you think it's a bit odd," I said, scrambling up the grassy slope, "that what Mina wants more than anything else is a dragon, and a stranger turns up who just happens to have a dragon egg in her pocket? How many people wander around with dragon eggs if it's against wizard law? Lucky they found Mina, don't you think? Why didn't I see it before?"

"What are you on about?" said Chrissie, but I, who was sprinting across the grounds towards the Forest, didn't answer.

Mina was sitting in an armchair outside her house; her skirt was rolled up to her knees and she had the sleeves of her shirt rolled up and she was shelling peas into a large bowl.

"Hullo," she said, smiling. "Finished yer exams? Got time fer a drink?"

"Yes, please," said Chrissie and Chris simultaneously, but I cut across them.

"No, we're in a hurry. Mina, I've got to ask you something. You know that night you won Norberta? What did the stranger you were playing cards with look like?"

"Dunno," said Mina casually, "she wouldn' take her cloak off."

The four of us looked stunned and raised our eyebrows.

"It's not that unusual, yeh get a lot o' funny folk in the Dragon's head – that's the pub down in the village. Mighta bin a dragon dealer, mightn' she? I never saw her face, she kept her hood up."

I sank down next to the bowl of peas.

"What did you talk to her about, Mina? Did you mention Dragon Mort at all?"

"Mighta come up," said Mina, frowning as she tried to remember. "Yeah … she asked what I did, an' I told her I was gamekeeper here … She asked a bit about the sorta creatures I looked after … so I told her … an' I said what I'd always really wanted was a dragon … an' then … I can' remember too well, 'cause she kept buyin' me drinks … Let' see … yeah, then she said she had the dragon egg an' we could play cards fer it if I wanted … but she had ter be sure I could handle it, she didn' want it ter go ter any old home … So I told her, after Cutesy, a dragon would be easy …"

"And did she – did she seem interested in Cutesy?" I asked, trying to keep my voice calm.

"Well – yeah – how many three-headed cats d'yeh meet, even around Dragon Mort? So I told her, Cutesy's a piece o' cake if yeh know how to calm her down, jus' play her a bit o' music an' she'll go straight off ter sleep –"

Mina suddenly looked horrified.

"I shouldn'ta told yeh that!" she blurted out. "Forget I said it! Hey – where're yeh goin'?"

Chris, Sian, Chrissie and I didn't speak to each other at all until we came to a halt in the Entrance Hall, which seemed very cold and gloomy after the grounds.

"We've got to go to Crighton," I said. "Mina told that stranger how to get past Cutesy and it was either Triphorm or Zira under that cloak – it must've been easy, once she'd got Mina drunk. I just hope Crighton believes us. Fauna might back us up if Basha doesn't stop her. Where is Crighton's office, anyway?"

"Oh, I know where it is!" said Sian suddenly. "I've been there a few times this year, remember, I told you, because she wanted to see me for a few things! Follow me, quick –"

"What are you four doing inside?"

It was Professor Darbus, carrying a large pile of books.

"We want to see my mother," said Sian rather bravely, Chris, Chrissie and I thought.

"See Professor Crighton?" Professor Darbus said, as though this was a fishy thing to do. "Why?"

I swallowed – What now?

"It's sort of secret," I said, but I wished at once I hadn't, because Professor Darbus' nostrils flared.

"Professor Crighton left ten minutes ago," she said coldly. "She received an urgent owl from the Ministry of Magic and flew off for London at once."

"She's _gone_?" I said. _"Now?"_

"Professor Crighton is a very great witch, Pride-Lander, she has many demands on her time –"

"But this is important."

"Something you have to say is more important than the Ministry of Magic, Pride-Lander?"

"Look," I said, throwing caution to the winds, "Professor – it's about the Mirror of Wishes –"

Whatever Professor Darbus had expected, it wasn't that. The books she was carrying tumbled out of her arms but she didn't pick them up.

"How do you know –?" she spluttered.

"Professor, I think – I _know_ – that Tr – that someone's going to try and steal the Mirror. I've got to talk to Professor Crighton."

She eyed me with a mixture of shock and suspicion.

"Professor Crighton will be back tomorrow," she said finally. "I don't know how you found out about the Mirror, but rest assured, no one can possibly steal it, it's too well protected."

"But, Professor –"

"Pride-Lander, I know what I'm talking about," she said shortly. She bent down and gathered up the fallen books. "I suggest you all go outside and enjoy the sunshine."

But we didn't.

"It's tonight," I said, once I was sure Professor Darbus was out of earshot. "Triphorm's going through the trapdoor tonight. She's found out everything she needs and now she's got Crighton out of the way. She sent that note, I bet the Ministry of Magic will get a real shock when Crighton turns up."

"But what can we –?"

Sian gasped. Chris, Chrissie and I spun round.

Triphorm was standing there.

"Good afternoon," she said smoothly.

We stared at her.

"You shouldn't be inside on a day like this," she said, with an odd, twisted smile.

"We were –" I began, without any idea what I was going to say.

"You want to be more careful," said Triphorm. "Hanging around like this, people will think you're up to something. And Lion-Heart really can't afford to lose any more points, can they?"

I flushed. We turned to go back outside, but Triphorm called us back.

"Be warned, Pride-Lander – any more night-time wanderings and I will personally make sure you are expelled. Good day to you."

She strode off in the direction of the staff room.

Out on the stone steps, I turned to the others.

"Right, here's what we've got to do," I whispered urgently. "One of us has to keep an eye on Triphorm – wait outside the staff room and follow her if she leaves it. Sian, you'd better do that."

"Why me?"

"It's obvious," said Chrissie. "You can pretend to be waiting for Professor Winds, you know." She then tried to imitate her sister's voice. "Oh Professor Winds, I'm so worried, I think I got question fourteen b wrong …"

"Oh, shut up," said Sian, but she agreed to go and watch out for Triphorm.

"And we'd better stay outside the third-floor corridor," I told Chris and Chrissie. "Come on."

But that part of my plan didn't work. No sooner had we reached the door separating Cutesy from the rest of the school than Professor Darbus turned up again, and this time, she lost her temper.

"I suppose you think you're harder to get past than a pack of enchantments!" she stormed. "Enough of this nonsense! If I hear you've come anywhere near here again, I'll take another fifty points from Lion-Heart! Yes, Dawson, from my own house!"

Chris, Chrissie and I went back to the common room. I had just said, "At least Sian's on Triphorm's tail," when the portrait of the Fat Lord opened and Sian came in.

"I'm sorry, Kiara!" Sian wailed. "Triphorm came out and asked me what I was doing, so I said I was waiting for Winds, and Triphorm went to get her, and I've only just got away. I don't know where Triphorm went."

"Well, that's it then, isn't it?" I said.

The other three stared at me. I was pale and my eyes were glittering.

"I'm going out of here tonight and I'm going to try and get to the Mirror first."

"Are you mad?" said Chris.

"You can't!" said Sian. "After what Darbus and Triphorm have said? You'll be expelled!"

"SO WHAT?" I shouted. "Don't you understand? If Triphorm gets hold of the Mirror, Zira's coming back! Haven't you heard what it was like when she was trying to take over? There won't be any Dragon Mort to get expelled from! She'll flatten it, or turn it into a school for the Dark Arts! Losing points doesn't matter any more, can't you see? D'you think she'll leave you and your families alone if Lion-Heart win the House Cup? If I get caught before I can get to the Mirror, well, I'll have to go back to my grandmothers and wait for Zira to find me there. It's only dying a bit later than I would have done, because I'm never going over to the Dark Side! I'm going through that trapdoor tonight and nothing you three can say is going to stop me! Zira tried to kill me and my parents, remember?"

I glared at them.

"You're right, Kiara," Sian said, patting my shoulder. I stared at her as she did this, and she looked at what she was doing in surprise, jumped and quickly took her hand off my shoulder. Chris and Chrissie were staring at her too (for I don't think that they had seen her do anything like that before), and Sian just looked at her shoes, determined not to meet our eyes.

I quickly got over this, though, for I carried on as though nothing had happened. "I'll use the Invisibility Cloak," I said. "It's just lucky I got it back."

"But will it cover all four of us?" said Chrissie.

"All – all four of us?"

"Oh, come off it, you don't think we'd let you go alone?" said Chris.

"Of course not," said Sian briskly, as her head popped back up. Seeing as we had got the subject back on track, she knew that it was safe for her to show her face again. "How do you think you'd get to the Mirror without us? I'd better go and look through my books, there might be something useful …"

"But if we get caught, you three will be expelled, too."

""Not if I can help it," said Sian grimly. "First of all, my mother – the headmistress of this school – has told many people in the wizarding world, this school especially, how proud of me she is and how much good I've done to so many people, and second of all, Winds told me in secret that I got a hundred and twelve per cent on her exam. They're not throwing me out after that."

0000

After dinner, the four of us sat nervously apart in the common room. Nobody bothered us; none of the Lion-Hearts had anything to say to me any more, after all. This was the first night I hadn't been upset by it. Sian was skimming through all her notes, hoping to come across one of the enchantments we were about to try and break. Chris, Chrissie and I didn't talk much. The three of us were thinking about what we were about to do.

Slowly, the room emptied as people drifted off to bed.

"Better get the Cloak," Chrissie muttered, as Leah Jones finally left, stretching and yawning. I ran upstairs to our dark dormitory. I pulled out the Cloak and then my eyes fell on the flute Mina sent me for Christmas. I pocketed it to use on Cutesy – I didn't feel much like singing at that moment.

I ran back down to the common room.

"We'd better put the Cloak on here, and make sure it covers all four of us – if Match spots one of our feet wandering along on its own –"

"What are you doing?" said a voice from the corner of the room. Nikita appeared from behind and armchair, clutching her toad, who looked as though it had been making another bid for freedom.

"Nothing, Nikita, nothing," I said, hurriedly putting the Cloak behind my back.

Nikita stared at our guilty faces.

"You're going out again," she said.

"No, no, no," said Sian. "No, we're not. Why don't you go to bed, Nikita?"

I looked at the grandfather clock by the door. We couldn't afford to waste any more time, Triphorm might even now be playing Cutesy to sleep.

"You can't go out," said Nikita, "you'll be caught again. Lion-Heart will be in even more trouble."

"You don't understand," I said, "this is important."

But Nikita was clearly steeling herself to do something desperate.

"I won't let you do it," she said, hurrying to stand in front of the portrait hole. "I'll – I'll fight you!"

"_Nikita,"_ Chris exploded, "get away from that hole and don't be an idiot –"

"Don't you call me an idiot!" said Nikita. "I don't think you should be breaking any more rules! And Chrissie, you were the one who told me to stand up to people!"

"Yes, but not to _us_," said Chrissie in exasperation. "Nikita, you don't know what you're doing."

She took a step forward and Nikita dropped her toad, who leapt out of sight.

"Go on then, try and hit me!" said Nikita, raising her fists. "I'm ready!"

I turned to Sian.

"_Do something,"_ I said desperately.

Sian stepped forward.

"Nikita," she said, "I'm really, really sorry about this."

She raised her wand.

"_Pertrificus Totalus!"_ she cried, pointing it at Nikita.

Nikita's arms snapped to her sides. Her legs sprang together. Her whole body rigid, she swayed where she stood and then fell flat on her face, stiff as a board.

Sian ran to turn her over. Nikita's jaws were jammed together so she couldn't speak. Only her eyes were moving, looking at us in horror.

"What've you done to her?" I whispered.

"It's the full Body-Bind," Sian said miserably. "Oh, Nikita, I'm so sorry."

"We had to do it, Nikita, no time to explain," I said.

"You'll understand later, Nikita," said Chrissie as we stepped over her, and was about to pull on the Invisibility Cloak, when we saw Chris lurking in a corner, shaking.

"You coming, Rickers?" Sian asked him.

He stepped forward, still shaking, looked at Sian and said, "You're a little scary, sister, you know that? brilliant, mind, but scary."

"You're scared of your own sister?" Sian asked him, a little sceptical. Chris nodded. Sian just went "tuh", shook her head and then we put the Cloak on.

But leaving Nikita motionless on the floor didn't feel like a very good omen. In our nervous state, every statue's shadow looked like Match, every distant breath of wind felt like Weeves swooping down on us.

At the foot of the first set of stairs, we spotted Mrs Robbs skulking near the top.

"Oh, let's kick her, just this once," Chrissie whispered in my ear, but I shook my head. As we climbed carefully around her, Mrs Robbs turned her lamp-like eyes on us, but didn't do anything.

We didn't meet anyone else until we reached the staircase up to the third floor. Weeves was bobbing halfway up, loosening the carpet so that people would trip

"Who's there?" she said suddenly as we climbed towards her. She narrowed her wicked black eyes. "Know you're there, even if I can't see you. Are you ghoulie or ghostie or wee student beastie?"

She rose up in the air and floated there, squinting at us.

"Should call Match, I should, if something's a-creeping around unseen."

I had a sudden idea.

"Weeves," I said, in a hoarse whisper, "the Bloody Baroness has her own reasons for being invisible."

Weeves almost fell out of the air in shock. She caught herself in time and hovered about a foot off the stairs.

"So sorry, your bloodiness, Miss Baroness, ma'am," she said greasily. "My mistake, my mistake – I didn't see you – of course I didn't, you're invisible – please forgive old Weevsie her little joke, ma'am."

"I have business here, Weeves," I croaked. "Stay away from this place tonight."

"I will, ma'am, I most certainly will," said Weeves, rising up in the air again. "Hope your business goes well, Baroness, I'll not bother you."

And she scooted off.

"_Brilliant_, Kiara!" whispered Chris.

A few seconds later, we were there, outside the third-floor corridor – and the door was already ajar.

"Well, there you are," I said quietly. "Triphorm's already got past Cutesy."

Seeing the door open somehow seemed to impress upon all four of us what was facing us. Underneath the Cloak, I turned to the other three.

"If you want to go back, I won't blame you," I said. "You can take the Cloak, I won't need it now."

"Don't be stupid," said Chris.

"We're coming," said Sian.

"We're not leaving your side now, kid," said Chrissie.

As the door creaked, low, rumbling growls met our ears. All three of the cat's noses sniffed in our direction, even though it couldn't see us.

"What's that at it's feet?" Sian whispered.

"Looks like a harp," said Chrissie. "Triphorm must have left it there."

"It must wake up the moment you stop playing," I said. "Well, here goes …"

I put Mina's flute to my lips and blew. It wasn't really a tune, but from the first note the beast's eyes began to droop. I hardly drew breath. Slowly, the cat's growls ceased – it tottered on its paws and fell to its knees, then it slumped to the ground, fast asleep.

"Keep playing," Chris warned me as we slipped out of the Invisibility Cloak and crept towards the trapdoor. We could feel the cat's hot, smelly breath as we approached the giant heads.

"I think we'll be able to pull the door open," said Chrissie, peering over the cat's back. "Want to go first, Sian?"

"No, I don't!"

"All right." Chris gritted his teeth and stepped carefully over the cat's legs. He bent and pulled the ring of the trapdoor, which swung up and open. Chrissie was close behind him, and they looked into the hole.

"What can you see?" Sian said anxiously.

"Nothing," said Chrissie. "Just black – there's no way of climbing down, we'll just have to drop."

I, who was still playing the flute, waved at Chris and Chrissie to get their attention, and pointed at myself.

"You want to go first? Are you sure?" said Chris. "I don't know how deep this thing goes. Give the flute to Sian so she can keep her asleep."

I handed the flute over. In the few seconds' silence, the cat growled and twitched, but the moment Sian began to play, it fell back into its deep sleep.

I climbed over it and looked down through the trapdoor. There was no sign of the bottom.

I lowered myself through the hole until I was hanging on by my fingertips. Then I looked up at Chris and Chrissie and said, "If anything happens to me, don't follow. Go straight to the owlery and send Harold to Crighton, right?"

"Right," said Chrissie.

"Right," said Chris.

"See you in a minute, I hope …"

And I let go. Cold, damp air rushed past me as I fell down, down, down and –

FLUMP. With a funny, muffled sort of thump I landed on something soft. I sat up and felt around, my eyes not used to the gloom. It felt as though I was sitting on some sort of plant.

"It's OK!" I called up to the light the size of a postage stamp which was the open trapdoor. "It's a soft landing, you can jump!"

Chris and Chrissie followed straight away. Chris landed on my left and Chrissie on my right, both of them sprawled.

"What's this stuff?" were Chrissie's first words.

"Dunno, sort of plant thing. I suppose it's here to break the fall. Come on, Sian!"

The distant music stopped. There was a loud growl from the cat, but Sian had already jumped. She landed opposite me.

"We must be miles under the school," she said.

"Lucky this plant thing's here, really," said Chris.

"_Lucky!"_ shrieked Sian. "Look at the three of you!"

She leapt up and struggled towards a damp wall. She had to struggle because the moment she had landed, the plant had started to twist snake-like tendrils around her ankles. As for me, Chris and Chrissie, our legs had already been bound tightly in long creepers without our noticing.

Sian had managed to free herself before the plant got a firm grip on her. Now she watched in horror as me, Chris and Chrissie fought to pull the plant off us, but the more we strained against it, the tighter and faster the plant wound around us.

"Stop moving!" Sian ordered us. "I know what this is – it's Devil's Snare!"

"Oh, I'm so glad we know what it's called, that's a great help," snarled Chrissie, leaning back, trying to stop the plant curling around her neck.

"Shut up, I'm trying to remember how to kill it!" said Sian.

"Well, hurry up, I can't breathe!" I gasped, wrestling with it as it curled around my chest.

"Devil's Snare, Devil's Snare … What did Spud say? It likes the dark and the damp –"

"So light a fire!" I choked.

"Yes – of course – but there's no wood!" Sian cried, wringing her hands.

"HAVE YOU GONE MAD?" Chris bellowed. "ARE YOU A WITCH OR NOT?"

"Oh, right!" said Sian, and she whipped out her wand, waved it, muttered something and sent a jet of the same bluebell flames she had conjured in a jam jar when we were out in the cold courtyard at the plant. In a matter of seconds, me, Chris and Chrissie felt it loosening its grip as it cringed away from the light and warmth. Wriggling and flailing, it unravelled itself from our bodies and we were able to pull free.

"Lucky you pay attention in Herbology, Sian," I said as I joined her by the wall, wiping sweat off my face.

"Yeah," said Chrissie, "and luck Kiara doesn't lose her head in a crisis – "there's no wood", _honestly_."

"This way," I said, pointing down a stone passageway which was the only way on.

All we could hear apart from our footsteps was the gentle drip of water trickling down the walls. The passageway sloped downwards and I was reminded of Fauntrotts. With an unpleasant jolt of the heart, I remembered that dragons were said to be guarding the vaults in the wizards' bank. If we met a dragon, a fully grown dragon – Norberta was bad enough …

"Can you hear something?" Chris whispered.

I listened. A soft rustling and clinking seemed to be coming from up ahead.

"Do you think it's a ghost?"

"I don't know … sounds like wings to me."

"There's light ahead – I can see something moving."

We reached the end of the passageway and saw before us a brilliantly lit chamber, its ceiling arching high above us. It was full of small, jewel-bright birds, fluttering and tumbling all around the room. On the opposite side of the chamber was a heavy, wooden door.

"Do you think they'll attack us if we cross the room?" said Chrissie.

"Probably," I said. "They don't look very vicious, but I suppose if they all swooped down at once … Well, there's nothing for it … I'll run."

I took a deep breath, covered my face with my arms and sprinted across the room. I expected to feel sharp beaks and claws tearing at me at any second, but nothing happened. I reached the door untouched. I pulled the handle, but it was locked.

The other three followed me. We tugged and heaved at the door, but it wouldn't budge, not even when Sian tried her Alohomora Charm.

"Now what?" said Chris.

"These birds … they can't be here just for decoration," said Sian.

We watched the birds soaring overhead, glittering – _glittering _?

"They're not birds!" I said suddenly, "they're _keys_! Winged keys – look carefully. So that must mean …" I looked around the chamber while the other three squinted up at the flock of keys. "… Yes – look! Broomsticks! We've got to catch the key to the door!"

"But there are _hundreds_ of them!"

Chrissie examined the lock on the door.

"We're looking for a big, old-fashioned one – probably silver, like the handle."

We seized a broomstick each and kicked off into the air, soaring into the midst of the cloud of keys. We grabbed and snatched but the bewitched keys darted and dived so quickly it was almost impossible to catch one.

Not for nothing, though, was I the youngest Seeker in a few years. I had a knack for spotting things other people didn't. After a minute's weaving about through the whirl of rainbow feathers, I noticed a large silver key that had a bent wing, as if it had already been caught and stuffed roughly into the keyhole.

"That one!" I called to the others. "That big one – there – no, there – with bright green wings – the feathers are all crumpled on one side."

Chrissie went speeding in the direction that I was pointing, crashed into the ceiling and nearly fell off her broom.

"We've got to close in on it!" I called, not taking my eyes off the key with the damaged wing. "Chrissie, you come down at it from above – Sian, stay below and try to stop it – Chris, close in from the left – and I'll close in from the right and try to catch it. Right, NOW!"

Chrissie dived, Sian rocketed upwards, Chris zoomed in from the left and I dodged the three of them and streaked after it; it sped towards the wall, I leant forward and with a nasty crunching noise, pinned it against the stone with one hand. Chris, Sian and Chrissie's cheers echoed around the high chamber.

We landed quickly and I ran to the door, the key struggling in my hand. I rammed it into the lock and turned – it worked. The moment the lock had clicked open, the key took flight again, looking very battered now that it had been caught twice.

"Ready?" I asked the other three, my hand on the door handle. They nodded. I pulled the door open.

The next chamber was so dark we couldn't see anything at all. But as we stepped into it, light suddenly flooded the room to reveal an astonishing sight.

We were standing on the edge of a huge chessboard, behind the black chessmen, which were all taller than we were and carved from what looked like black stone. Facing us, way across the chamber, were the white pieces. Me, Chris, Sian and Chrissie shivered slightly – the towering white chessmen had no faces.

"Now what do we do?" I whispered.

"It's obvious, isn't it?" said Chrissie. "We've got to play our way across the room."

Behind the white pieces we could see another door.

"How?" said Sian nervously.

"I think," said Chrissie, "we're going to have to be chessmen."

She walked up to a black knight and put her hand out to touch the knight's horse. At once, the stone sprang to life. The horse pawed the ground and the knight turned his helmet to look down at Chrissie.

"Do we – er – have to join you to get across?"

The black knight nodded. Chrissie turned to us three.

"This wants thinking about …" she said. "I suppose we've got to take place of three of the black pieces …"

Chris, Sian and I stayed quiet, watching Chrissie think. Finally she said, "Now, don't be offended or anything, but apart from Chris, you two – Kiara and Sian – are that good at Chris –"

"We're not offended," I said quickly. "Just tell us what to do."

"Well, Kiara, you take the place of that bishop, Sian, you go next to her instead of that castle, and Chris, you take the place of the other castle."

"What about you?"

"I'm going to be a knight," said Chrissie.

The chessmen seemed to have been listening, because at these words, a knight, a bishop and the two black castles turned their backs on the white pieces and walked off the board leaving four empty squares which me, Chris, Sian and Chrissie took.

"White always plays first in chess," said Chrissie, peering across the board. "Yes … look …"

A white pawn had moved forward two squares.

Chrissie started to direct the black pieces. They went silently wherever she sent them. My knees were trembling. What if we lost?

"Kiara – move directly four squares to the right."

Our first real shock came when our other knight was taken. The white queen smashed him to the floor and dragged him off the board, where he lay quite still, face down.

"Had to let that happen," said Chrissie, looking shaken. "leaves you free to take that bishop, Sian, go on."

Every time one of our men was lost, the white pieces showed no mercy. Soon there was a huddle of limp black players slumped along the wall. Twice, Chris had to tell Chrissie to look at what was going on properly, because me and Sian were near danger. She herself darted around the board taking almost as many white pieces as we had lost black ones.

"We're nearly there," she muttered suddenly. "Let me think – let me think …"

The white queen turned her blank face towards Chrissie.

"Yes …" said Chrissie, "it's the only way … I've got to be taken."

"NO!" Chris, Sian and I shouted.

"That's chess!" snapped Chrissie. "You've got to make some sacrifices! I take one step forward and she'll take me – that leaves you free to checkmate the king, Kiara!"

"Chrissie –"

"Do you want to stop Triphorm or not?"

"Chrissie –"

"Look, if you don't hurry up, she'll already have the Mirror!"

There was nothing else for it.

"Ready?" Chrissie called, her face pale but determined. "Here I go – now, don't hang around once you've won."

"That's my sister," Sian muttered proudly and looking proudly at Chrissie, as she stepped forward and the white queen pounced. She struck Chrissie hard on the head with her stone arm and she crashed to the floor – Chris and Sian screamed but stayed on their squares – the white queen dragged Chrissie to one side. She looked as if she'd been knocked out.

Shaking, I moved three spaces to the left.

The white king took off his crown and threw it at my feet. We had won. The chessmen parted and bowed, leaving the door ahead clear. With one desperate look back at Chrissie, me and Sian charged through the door and up the next passageway after Chris said he'd stay with her and wished us luck.

"What if she's –?"

"She'll be all right," I said, trying to convince myself. "What do you reckon's next?"

"We've had Spud's, that was the Devil's Snare – Winds must've put charms on the keys – Darbus transfigured the chessmen to make them alive – that leaves Quarrel's spell, and Triphorm's …"

We had reached another door.

"All right?" I whispered.

"Go on."

I pushed it open.

A disgusting smell filled our nostrils, making both of us pull our jumpers up over our noses. Eyes watering, we saw, flat on the floor in front of us, a troll even larger than the one we had tackled, out cold with a bloody lump on its head.

"I'm glad we didn't have to fight that one," I whispered, as we stepped carefully over one of its massive legs. "Come on, I can't breathe."

I pulled open the next door, both of us hardly dared to look at what came next – but there was nothing very frightening in here, just a table with seven differently shaped bottles standing on it in a line.

"Triphorm's," I said. "What do we have to do?"

We stepped over the threshold and immediately a fire sprang up behind us in the doorway. It wasn't ordinary fire either; it was purple. At the same instant, black flames shot up in the doorway leading onwards. We were trapped.

"Look!" Sian seized a roll of paper lying next to the bottles. I looked over her shoulder to read it:

_Danger lies before you, while safety lies behind,_

_Two of us will help you, whichever you would find, _

_One among us seven will let you move ahead,_

_Another will transport the drinker back instead,_

_Two among our number hold only nettle wine, _

_Three of us are killers, waiting hidden in line. _

_Choose, unless you wish to stay here for evermore,_

_To help you in your choice, we give you these clues four:_

_First, however slyly the poison tries to hide,_

_You will always find some on nettle wine's left side;_

_Second, different are those who stand at either end,_

_But if you would move onwards, neither is your friend;_

_Third, as you see clearly, all are different size, _

_Neither dwarf nor giant holds death in their insides;_

_Fourth, the second on the left and the second on the right, _

_Are twins once you taste them, though different at first sight. _

Sian let out a great sigh and I, amazed, saw that she was smiling, the very last thing I felt like doing.

"_Brilliant,"_ said Sian. "This isn't magic – it's logic – a puzzle. A lot of the greatest wizards haven't got an ounce of logic, they'd be stuck in here for ever."

"But so will we, won't we?"

"Of course not," said Sian. "Everything we need is here on this paper. Seven bottles: three are poison; two are wine; one will get us safely though the black fire and one will get us back through the purple. And besides, you're forgetting that I'm the headmistress' eldest daughter; her wisdom and logic lives on in me."

"But how do we know which to drink?"

"Give me a minute."

Sian read the paper several times. Then she walked up and down the line of bottles, muttering to herself and pointing at them. At last, she clapped her hands.

"Got it," she said. "The smallest bottle will get us through the black fire – towards the Mirror."

I looked at the tiny bottle.

"There's only enough for one of us," I said. "That's hardly one swallow."

We looked at each other.

"Which one will get you back through the purple flames?"

Sian pointed at a rounded bottle at the right end of the line.

"You drink that," I said. "No, listen – get back and get Chris and Chrissie – grab brooms from the flying-key room, they'll get you out of the trapdoor and past Cutesy – go straight to the owlery and send Harold to your mother, we need her. I might be able to hold Triphorm off for a while, but I'm no match for her really."

"But Kiara – what if She-You-Know's with her?"

"Well - I was lucky once, wasn't I?" I said, pointing to my scar. "I might get lucky again."

Sian's lip trembled and she suddenly dashed at me and put her arms around me, which was odd because she was such an emotionally-strong woman back then. She suddenly stiffened and let go of me and looked pale and surprised at what she had done. I was filled with shock at first, for I could not believe that this girl had done such a thing. I know I'm making it sound like she had killed someone or something like that, but if you have read this story this far and know what Sian's character is like, well, you can see where I'm going with this.

"_Sian!"_

"Kiara – you're a great witch, you know."

"I'm not as good as you," I said, very embarrassed, as she let go of me.

"Me!" said Sian. "Kiara, how blind are your eyes, really? Books! And cleverness! There are more important things – friendship, bravery, family and – oh Kiara – be _careful_!"

"You drink first," I said. "You are sure which is which, aren't you?"

"Positive," said Sian. She took a long drink from the round bottle at the end and shuddered.

"It's not poison?" I said anxiously.

"No – but it's like ice."

"Quick, go, before it wears off."

"Good luck – take care –"

"GO!"

Sian turned and walked straight through the purple fire.

I took a deep breath and picked up the smallest bottle. I turned to face the black flames.

It was indeed as though ice was flooding through my body. I put the bottle down and walked forward; I braced myself, saw the black flames licking my body but couldn't feel them – for a moment I could see nothing but dark fire – then I was on the other side, in the last chamber.

There was already someone there – but it wasn't Triphorm. It wasn't even Quarrel.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

**The Woman with Two Faces**

It was Quarrel.

"_You!"_ I gasped.

Quarrel smiled. Her face wasn't twitching at all.

"Me," she said calmly. "I wondered whether I'd be meeting you here, Pride-Lander."

"But I thought – Triphorm –"

"Tiana?" Quarrel laughed and it wasn't her usual quivering treble, either, but cold and sharp. "Yes, Tiana does seem the type, doesn't she? So useful to have her swooping around like an overgrown bat. Next to her, who would suspect p-p-poor st-stuttering P-Professor Quarrel?"

At that moment, I couldn't take it in. This couldn't be true, it couldn't.

"But Triphorm tried to kill me!"

"No, no, no. _I_ tried to kill you. If Triphorm's cloak hadn't caught fire and broke my eye contact, I would have succeeded. Even with Triphorm muttering her little counter-curse."

"Triphorm was trying to _save_ me?"

"Of course," said Quarrel coldly. "Why do you think she wanted to referee your next match? She was trying to make sure I didn't do it again. Funny, really … she needn't have bothered. I couldn't do anything with Crighton watching. All the other teachers thought Triphorm was trying to stop Lion-Heart winning, she _did_ make herself unpopular … and what a waste of time, when after all that, I'm going to kill you tonight."

Quarrel snapped her fingers. Ropes sprang out of thin air and wrapped themselves tightly around me.

"You're too nosy to live, Pride-Lander. Scurrying around the school at Hallowe'en like that, for all I knew you'd seen me coming to look at what was guarding the Mirror."

"_You_ let the troll in?"

"Certainly. I have a special gift with trolls – you must have seen what I did to the one in the chamber back there? Unfortunately, while everyone else was running around looking for it, Triphorm, who already suspected me, went straight to the third floor to head me off – and not only did my troll fail to beat you to death, that three-headed cat didn't even manage to bite Triphorm's leg off properly."

"Now, wait quietly, Pride-Lander. I need to examine this interesting mirror."

It was only then that I realised what was standing behind Quarrel. It was the Mirror of Straeh.

"This mirror is the key to finding the other Mirror," Quarrel murmured, tapping her way around the frame. "Trust Crighton to come up with something like this … but she's in London … I'll be far away by the time she gets back …"

All I could think of doing was to keep Quarrel talking and stop her concentrating on the Mirror.

"I saw you and Triphorm in the Forest –" I blurted out.

"Yes," said Quarrel idly, walking around the Mirror to look at the back. "She was on to me by that time, trying to find out how far I'd got. She suspected me all along. Tried to frighten me – as though she could, when I had Lady Zira on my side …"

Quarrel came back out from behind the Mirror and stared hungrily into it.

"I see the Mirror … I'm presenting it to my mistress … but where is it?"

I struggled against the ropes binding me, but they didn't give. I _had _to keep Quarrel from giving her whole attention to the Mirror of Straeh.

"But Triphorm always seemed to hate me so much."

"Oh, she does," said Quarrel casually, "heavens, yes. She was at Dragon Mort with your mother, didn't you know? They loathed each other. But she never wanted you _dead_."

"I heard you a few days ago, sobbing – I thought Triphorm was threatening you …"

For the first time, a spasm of fear flitted across Quarrel's face.

"Sometimes," she said, "I find it hard to follow my mistress' instructions – she is a great witch and I am weak –"

"You mean she was there in the classroom with you?" I gasped.

"She is with me wherever I go," said Quarrel quietly. "I met her when I travelled around the world. A foolish young woman I was then, full of ridiculous ideas about good and evil. Lady Zira showed me how wrong I was. There is no good and evil, there is only power, and those too weak to seek it … Since then, I have served her faithfully, although I have let her down many times. She has had to be very hard on me." Quarrel shivered suddenly. "She does not forgive mistakes easily. When I failed to steal the Mirror from Fauntrotts, she was most displeased. She punished me … decided she would have to keep a closer watch on me …"

Quarrel's voice tailed away. I was remembering my trip to that place behind the public toilet in Southport – how could I have been so stupid? I'd _seen_ Quarrel that very day, shaken hands with her in the Witching Service.

Quarrel cursed under her breath.

"I don't understand … is the Mirror of Wishes _inside_ this Mirror? Should I break it?"

My mind was racing.

"What I want more than anything else in the world at the moment," I thought, "is to find the Mirror of Wishes before Quarrel does. So if I look in the Mirror of Straeh, I should see myself finding it – which means I'll see where it's hidden! But how can I look without Quarrel realising what I'm up to?

I tried to edge to the left, to get in front of the glass without Quarrel noticing, but the ropes around my ankles were too tight: I tripped and fell over. Quarrel ignored me. She was still talking to herself.

"What does this Mirror do? How does it work? Help me, Mistress!"

And to my horror, a voice answered, and the voice seemed to come from Quarrel herself.

"Use the girl … Use the girl …"

Quarrel rounded on me.

"Yes – Pride-Lander – come here."

She clapped her hands once and the ropes binding me fell off. I got slowly to my feet.

"Come here," Quarrel repeated. "Look in the Mirror and tell me what you see."

I walked towards her.

"I must lie," I thought desperately. "I must look and lie about what I see, that's all."

Quarrel moved close behind me. I breathed in the funny smell that seemed to come from Quarrel's turban. I closed my eyes, stepped in front of the Mirror and opened them again.

I saw my reflection, pale and scared-looking at first. But a moment later, my reflection smiled at me and then, to my amazement, it walked out of the Mirror and was standing right in front of me. It put its hand into its pocket and pulled out a small, golden-framed mirror with small moonstones in the bottom. It winked, put the mirror back in its pocket, turned away from me, walked back into the Mirror and vanished – and as it did so, I felt something heavy drop into my real pocket. Somehow – incredibly – _I'd got the Mirror of Wishes_.

"Well?" said Quarrel impatiently. "What do you see?"

I screwed up my courage.

"I see myself shaking hands with Crighton," I invented. "I – I've won the House Cup for Lion-Heart."

Quarrel cursed again.

"Get out of the way," she said. As I moved aside I felt the Mirror of Wishes against my leg. Dare I make a break for it?

Well, I tried to, but I hadn't walked five paces before a high voice spoke, though Quarrel wasn't moving her lips.

"She lies … She lies …"

"Pride-Lander, come back here!" Quarrel shouted. "Tell me the truth! What did you just see?"

The high voice spoke again.

"Let me speak to her … face to face …"

"Mistress, you are not strong enough!"

"I have strength enough … for this …"

I felt as if Devil's Snare was rooting me to the spot. I couldn't move a muscle. Petrified, I watched as Quarrel reached up and began to unwrap her turban. "What was going on?" I wondered. The turban fell away. Quarrel's head looked strangely small without it – I could see a few wisps of hair at the bottom of her head. Then she turned slowly on the spot.

I would have screamed, but I couldn't make a sound. Where there should have been a back to Quarrel's head, there was a face, the most terrible face I had ever seen. It was chalk white with gleaming scarlet eyes and slits for nostrils, like a snake.

"Kiara Pride-Lander …" it whispered.

I tried to take a step backwards but my legs wouldn't move.

"See what I have become?" the face said. "Mere shadow and vapour … I have form only when I can share another's body … but there have always been those willing to let me into their hearts and minds … Unicorn blood has strengthened me, these past weeks … you saw faithful Quarrel drinking it for me in the Forest … and once I have the Elixir of Life, I will be able to create a body of my own … Now … why don't you give me that Mirror in your pocket?"

So she knew. The feeling suddenly surged back into my legs. I stumbled backwards.

"Don't be a fool," snarled the face. "Better save your own life and join me … or you'll meet the same end I almost gave you and your parents eleven years ago … They were so foolish ... still are, in fact."

"LIAR!" I shouted.

"How touching …" it hissed. "I always value bravery … Yes, girl, when I last saw your parents, they were brave … your father stopped me killing your parents before you were born and your brother still lived –"

"My brother?" I asked, amazed.

"What … didn't you know? Yes, you had a brother … and when he was young your father sent me to exile in the outlands and you mother agreed … Now, give me the Mirror unless you never want to see your parents again!"

"NEVER!"

I sprang towards the flame door, but Zira screamed, "SEIZE HER!" and, next second, I felt Quarrel's hand close on my wrist. A needle-sharp pain seared across my scar, my head felt as though it was about to split in two; I yelled, struggling with all my might, and to my surprise, Quarrel let go of me. The pain had lessened – I looked wildly around to see where Quarrel had gone and saw her hunched in pain, looking at her fingers – they were blistering before her eyes.

"Seize her! SEIZE HER!" shrieked Zira again and Quarrel lunged, knocking me clean off my feet, landing on top of me, both hands around my neck – my scar was almost blinding me with pain, yet I could see Quarrel howling with agony.

"Mistress, I cannot hold her – my hands – my hands!"

And Quarrel, though pinning me to the ground with her knees, let go of me and stared, bewildered, at her own palms – I could see they looked burnt, raw, red and shiny.

"Then kill her, fool, and be done!" screeched Zira.

Quarrel raised her hand to perform a deadly curse, but I, acting on instinct, reached up and grabbed Quarrel's face –

"AAAARGH!"

Quarrel rolled off me, her face blistering too, and then I knew: Quarrel couldn't touch my bare skin, not without suffering terrible pain – my only chance was to keep hold of Quarrel, keep her in enough pain to stop her doing a curse.

I jumped to my feet, caught Quarrel by the arm and hung on as tight as I could. Quarrel screamed and tried to throw me off – the pain in my head was building – I couldn't see – I could only hear Quarrel's terrible shrieks and Zira's yells of "KILL HER! KILL HER!" and other voices, maybe in my own head, crying, "Kiara! Kiara!"

I felt Quarrel's arm wrenched from my grasp, knew all was lost, and fell into blackness, down … down … down …

0000

Something gold was glinting just above me. The Snitch! I tried to catch it, but my arms were too heavy.

I blinked. It wasn't the Snitch at all. It was a pair of glasses. How strange.

I blinked again. The smiling face of Susan Crighton swam into view above me.

"Good afternoon, Kiara," said Crighton.

I stared at her. Then I remembered. "Ma'am! The Mirror! It was Quarrel! She's got the Mirror! Ma'am, quick –"

"Calm yourself, dear girl, you are a little behind the times," said Crighton. "Quarrel does not have the Mirror."

"Then, who does? Ma'am, I –"

"Kiara, please relax, or Matron will have me thrown out."

I swallowed and looked around me. I realised that I must have been in the hospital wing. I was lying in bed with white linen sheets and next to me was a table piled high with what looked like half the sweet-shop.

"Tokens from your friends and admirers," said Crighton, beaming. "What happened down in the dungeons between you and Professor Quarrel is a complete secret, so, naturally, the whole school knows. I believe my nieces Misses Tanya and Geri Fang were responsible for trying to send you a lavatory seat. No doubt they thought it would amuse you. Matron, however, felt it might not be very hygienic, and confiscated it."

"How long have I been here?"

"Three days. My children, Chris, Sian and Chrissie will be most relieved you have come round, they have been extremely worried. As will your grandmothers. Your grandmother Sarabi was here two days ago when I called her and told her what happened."

"But ma'am, the Mirror –"

"I see you are not to be distracted. Very well, the Mirror. Professor Quarrel did not mange to take it from you. I arrived in time to prevent that, although you were doing very well on your own, I must say."

"You got there? You got Sian's owl?"

"We must have crossed in mid-air. No sooner had I reached London than it became clear to me that the place I should be was the one I had just left. I arrived just in time to pull Quarrel off you –"

"It was _you_."

"I feared I might be too late."

"You nearly were, I couldn't have kept her off the Mirror much longer –"

"Not the Mirror, girl, you – the effort involved nearly killed you. For one terrible moment there, I was afraid it had. As for the Mirror, it has been destroyed."

"Destroyed?" I said blankly. "But your friend – Nicola Fleming –"

"Oh, you know about Nicola?" said Crighton, sounding quite delighted. "You _did_ do the thing properly, didn't you? Well, Nicola and I have had a little chat and agreed it's all for the best."

"But that means she and her husband will die, won't they?"

"They have enough Elixir to set their affairs in order and then, yes, they will die."

Crighton smiled at the look of amazement on my face.

"To one as young as you, I'm sure it seems incredible, but to Nicola and her husband, it really is like going to bed after a very, _very_ long day. After all, to the well-organised mind, death is but the next great adventure. You know, the Mirror was really not such a wonderful thing. As much money and life as you could want! The two things most human beings would choose above all – the trouble is, humans do have a knack of choosing precisely those things which are worst for them."

I lay there, lost for words. Crighton hummed a little and smiled at the ceiling.

"Ma'am?" I said. "I've been thinking … Ma'am – even if the Mirror's gone, Zi – … I mean, She-You-Know –"

"Call her Zira, Kiara. Always use the proper name for things. Fear of a name increases fear of the thing itself."

"Yes, ma'am. Well, Zira's going to try other ways of coming back, isn't she? I mean, she hasn't gone, has she?"

"No, Kiara, she has not. She is still out there somewhere, perhaps looking for another body to share … not being truly alive, she cannot be killed. She left Quarrel to die; she shows just as little mercy to her followers as her enemies. Nevertheless, Kiara, while you may only have delayed her return to power, it will merely take someone else who is prepared to fight what seems a losing battle next time – and if she is delayed again, and again, why, she may never return to power."

I nodded, but stopped quickly, because it made my head hurt. Then I said, "Ma'am, there are some other things I'd like to know, if you can tell me … things I want to know the truth about …"

"The truth." Crighton sighed. "It is a beautiful and terrible thing, and should therefore be treated with great caution. However, I shall answer your questions unless I have a very good reason not to, in which case I beg you'll forgive me. I shall not, of course, lie."

"Well … Zira said that she got sent to exile because she tried to kill my parents – and then me. But why would she want to kill me and my family in the first place?"

Crighton sighed very deeply this time.

"Alas, the first thing you ask me, I cannot tell you. Not today. Not now. You will know, one day … put it from your mind now, Kiara. When you are older … I know you hate to hear this … when you are ready, you will know."

I knew it would be no good to argue, and I did find out five years later, so wait until book the fifth.

"But why couldn't Quarrel touch me?"

"She couldn't touch you, Kiara, because before you were born, you had a brother called Kopa. He was a very handsome boy and looked a lot like your father."

"What happened to him, ma'am?"

"Zira, of course. She knew your parents had a son and knew that the only way to get to them was to kill their boy. And she did. Your parents arrived just moments after Zira did the dreadful act. Your mother was most aggrieved and your father was more angrier at Zira than he had ever been before."

"But what has all this got to do with Quarrel not being able to touch me, ma'am?"

"I'm getting to that, Kiara. Well, before Zira left, she saw your father touch his wife's stomach, and your father saw her looking at your parents. He knew that you were going to be in danger when you were born; so the moment you were born, he felt a spark of something fall in you, which would act not only as a protection if anyone tried to attack you, but also he created a bond between you and him. For you see Kiara, your father loves you much, much more than the usual love between a parent and child. If there is one thing, Zira doesn't understand, it is love. She didn't realise that love as powerful as your father's for you leaves its own mark. Not a scar, no visible sign … to have been loved so deeply, even though you have never seen the person who loves you properly, will give us some protection for ever. It is in your very skin. Quarrel, full of hatred, greed and ambition, sharing her soul with Zira, could not touch you for this reason. It was agony to touch a person marked by something so good."

"How old was my brother when he died, ma'am?" I asked her.

"Well, here's the thing, Kiara. I don't think that he's dead."

"Ma'am?" was all I said. I looked at her like she was crazy. She chuckled at the look on my face.

"I understand why you think I'm crazy for telling you this, Kiara, but it's true. For you see, before your parents got there, Zira had tortured your poor brother, and when the lad wasn't fit enough to move, Zira got two of her followers to take him somewhere far from the Pride-Lands, and so they dumped him on the African plains, away from the Pride-Lands. There was still blood on the ground from where your brother had been tortured, and that's how your parents knew he had been there, but when we searched for him, there was no sign that a body had been there at all. All of Africa was searched for days on your father's orders, and there was still no sign. After that, your parents gave up on finding him, and so assumed him to be dead. But I think differently. You see, Kiara, I believe that your brother was found by someone, and that a good family took him in. Of course, I am only assuming this to be true, but I have a felling that is telling me that I'm right, and right I usually am, for that matter."

"What was he like, ma'am?"

"He was a lot like your father, Kiara."

"And how old was he, ma'am?"

Crighton sighed and told me, "He was just four when it happened, Kiara."

She looked at me, and saw tears in my eyes. She brushed the hair back from my face and held me to her, letting me cry, ruining her robes until I could find my voice and she was humming what sounded like a lullaby into my hair. When I had cried myself out again and found my voice, I said, "And the Invisibility Cloak – do you know who sent it to me?"

"Ah – your mother happened to leave it in my possession and I thought you might like it." Crighton's eyes twinkled. "Useful things … your mother used it mainly for sneaking off to the kitchens to steal food when she was here ."

"And there's something else …"

"Fire away."

"Quarrel said Professor Triphorm hates me because she hated my mother. Is that true?"

"Well, they did rather detest each other. Not unlike yourself and Miss Malty. And then, your mother did something Triphorm could never forgive."

"What?"

"She saved her life."

"_What?"_

"Yes …" said Crighton dreamily. "Funny, the way people's minds work, isn't it? Professor Triphorm couldn't bear being in your mother's debt … I do believe she worked so hard to protect you this year because she felt that would make she and your mother quits. Then she could go back to hating your mother in peace …"

I tried to understand this but it made my head pound, so I stopped.

"And ma'am, there's one more thing …"

"Just the one?"

"How did I get the Mirror of Wishes out of the Mirror of Straeh?"

"Ah, now, I'm glad you asked me that. It was one of my more brilliant ideas, and between you and me, that's saying something. You see, only one who wanted to _find_ the Mirror – find it, but not use it – would be able to get it, otherwise they'd just see themselves making gold or drinking the Elixir of Life. My brain surprises even me sometimes … Now, enough questions. Is suggest you make a start on these sweets. Ah! All-Flavour Beans! I was unfortunate enough in my youth to come across a vomit-flavoured one, and since then I'm afraid I've rather lost my liking for them – but I think I'll be safe with a nice toffee, don't you?"

She smiled and popped the golden-brown bean into her mouth. Then she choked and said, "Alas! Earwax!" She then stood up, brushed my hair and left. I got comfortable sitting up under the covers as I watched Crighton leave. I looked at the table of sweets after she left, and then back at the doors to the hospital wing, and I saw something that scared me – at first.

A lion, an actual lion with a strange, golden glow around it. It saw me and started to walk towards me, it's paws padding softly on the ground, no louder than a footfall. I knelt up in bed, looking carefully at the creature and bringing up the bed sheets. I looked back at the large and powerful lion, and was surprised to see that it wasn't going to attack me; it was just walking towards me. When it reached my bed, it just stared at me, waiting for me to recognise it. I looked at it for a few minutes, not knowing whether to scream or not, when I saw his eyes; they were the same shade of amber as my …

"Daddy?" I said uncertainly.

I could see a smile in the lion's eyes and then he transformed into my father. He looked down at me and sat on my bed with a sad smile on his face.

"Kiara," he said, a note of relief sounding in his voice. "Thank goodness …"

"You know about what happened to me?" I asked.

"Of course I know what happened to you! Crighton called your grandmothers as soon as she saw you were safe here and has spoken to them about what happened. My mother has seen you and afterwards, she told Sarafina, and were immensely worried. My mother came to see your mother and I after she had seen you and told us what happened. I can't believe you faced Zira and survived again! I really can't!"

"I know I went out of bed after hours, but I just didn't want Zira to come back and take over the world like she tried to do. I'm sorry I put myself in danger and had many people worried, but you can see why I did it, can't you, Daddy?"

"Of course I can, sweetheart," my father said, kissing me on the head. "You're safe now and that's what matters. Besides, you did what me and your mother would have done, which was stand up against the dark forces and stop them trying to do harm all over the world."

"Really?"

"Yes, Kiara. I'm proud of you, my daughter, I truly am. Uh oh." He looked at himself; he was fading away. "I have to go. I'll speak to you soon, darling."

"No, Daddy, please don't leave me!" I yelled, as he went farther and farther away from me.

"Be good for me, Kiara!"

"Daddy, don't go!"

"I love you, Kiara!" he yelled, as a golden glow consumed him.

"I love you too, Daddy. But please, don't go!" I yelled, but the golden glow consumed him and he was gone. I stared blankly at the door for a few seconds and then said "Awww!" lay back down on my bed and put a pillow over my head. (Oh, and before I move on, I have to tell you now, that there will be more on my brother as the series progresses, just so you know.)

0000

Matron was a nice woman, but she was very strict.

"Just five minutes," I pleaded.

"Absolutely not."

"You let Professor Crighton in …"

"Well, of course, that was the Headmistress, quite different. You _need_ rest."

"I am resting, look, lying down and everything. Besides, they are three of the Headmistress' children. Oh, go on, Matron …"

"Oh, very well," she said. "But five minutes _only_."

And she let Chris, Sian and Chrissie in.

"_Kiara!"_

Sian looked ready to fling her arms around me again, but she quickly got a hold of herself before Chris or Chrissie could notice, which I was glad of as my head was still very sore.

"Oh, Kiara, we were sure you were going to – Ma was so worried –"

"The whole school's talking about it," said Chrissie. "What _really_ happened?"

It was one of those rare occasions when the true story is even more strange and exciting than the wild rumours. I told them everything: Quarrel, the Mirror of Straeh, the Mirror of Wishes and Zira. Chris, Sian and Chrissie were a very good audience; they gasped in all the right places and, when I told them what was under Quarrel's turban, Sian and Chrissie screamed out loud.

"So the Mirror's gone?" said Chris finally. "Fleming's just going to _die_?"

"That's what I said, but Crighton thinks that – what was it? – "to the well-organised mind, death is but the next great adventure"."

"I always said she was off her rocker," said Chrissie, looking quite impressed at how mad she was. Then Sian hit her. "OW!" Chrissie yelled. "What did you do that for, sister?"

"That's our mother your talking about, Chrissie! Show some respect!" said Sian roughly.

"Or what?" Chrissie smirked, but the smile was wiped off her face when Sian put her fist in front of Chrissie's face. Chrissie got the hint and backed off slightly as Sian slowly put her fist down. She looked slyly at her sister for a few moments before turning back to me, her eyes becoming un-narrowed as she did so.

"So what happened to you three?" I said.

""Well, I got back all right," said Sian. "Chris and I brought Chrissie round – that took a while – and we were dashing up to the owlery to contact Ma when we met her in the Entrance Hall. She already knew, of course – she said, "Kiara's gone after her, hasn't she?" and after the three of us nodded, she said, "Sian, come with me." So I left Chrissie with Chris, and me and Ma hurtled off to the third floor."

"D'you think she meant you to do it?" said Chrissie. "Sending you your mother's Cloak and everything?"

"_Well," _Sian exploded, "if she did – I mean to say – that's terrible – you could have been killed."

"No it isn't," I said thoughtfully. "She's a funny woman, Crighton. I think she sort of wanted to give me a chance. I think she knows more or less everything that goes on here, you know. I reckon she had a pretty good idea we were going to try, and instead of stopping us, she just taught us enough to help, even if you didn't tell her what we were up to, Sian. I don't think it was an accident she let me find out how the Mirror of Straeh worked. It's almost like she thought I had the right to face Zira if I could …"

"Yeah, no disrespect to you, Sian, but Ma's barking, all right," said Chris proudly. "Listen, you've got to be up for the end-of-year feast tomorrow. The points are all in and Snake-Eyes won, of course – you missed the last Quidditch match, we were steamrollered by Raven-Wings without you – but the food'll be good."

At that moment, Matron bustled over.

"You've had nearly fifteen minutes, now OUT," she said firmly.

0000

After a good night's sleep, I felt nearly back to normal.

"I want to go to the feast," I told Matron as she straightened my sweet boxes. "I can, can't I?"

"Professor Crighton says you are allowed to go," she said sniffily, as though in her opinion Professor Crighton didn't realise how risky feasts could be. "And you have another visitor."

"Oh good," I said. "Who is it?"

Mina sidled through the door as I spoke. As usual when she was indoors, Mina looked too big to be allowed. She sat down next to me, took one look at me and burst into tears.

"It's – all – my – ruddy – fault!" she sobbed, her face in her hands. "I told the evil woman how ter get past Cutesy! I told her! It was the only thing she didn't know an' I told her! Yeh could've died! All fer a dragon egg! I'll never drink again! I should be chucked out an' made ter live as a Muggle!"

"Mina!" I said, shocked to see Mina shaking with grief and remorse, great tears leaking down her cheeks. "Mina, she'd have found out somehow, this is Zira we're talking about, she'd have found out even if you hadn't told her."

"Yeh could've died!" sobbed Mina. "An' don' say the name!"

"ZIRA!" I bellowed, and Mina was so shocked, she stopped crying. "I've met her and I'm calling her by her name. Please cheer up, Mina, we saved the Mirror of Wishes, it's gone, she can't use it. Have a Multi-Flavoured Fruit-Frog, I've got loads …"

Mina wiped her nose on the back of her hand and said, "That reminds me. I've got yeh a present."

"It's not a stoat sandwich, is it?" I said anxiously and at last Mina gave a weak chuckle.

"Nah. Crighton gave me the day off yesterday ter fix it. 'Course, she shoulda sacked me instead – anyway, got yeh this …"

What she got me was a handsome, leather-covered book. I opened it curiously. It was full of wizard photographs. Smiling and waving at me from every page were my mother and father.

"Sent owls off ter all yer parents' old school friends, askin' fer photos … Knew yeh didn' have any, apart from the one of yeh parents getting' married … D'yeh like it?"

I couldn't speak, but Mina understood.

0000

I made my way down to the end-of-year feast alone that night. I had been held up by Matron's fussing-about, insisting on giving me one last check-up, so the Great Hall was already full. It was decked out in the Snake-Eyes colours of green and silver to celebrate Snake-Eyes' winning the House Cup for the seventh year in a row. A huge banner showing the Snake-Eyes serpent covered the wall behind the High Table.

When I walked in there was a sudden hush and then everybody started talking loudly at once. I slipped into a seat beside Sian at the Dawsons' table and tried to ignore the fact that people were standing up to look at me.

Fortunately, Crighton arrived moments later. The babble died away.

"Another year gone!" said Crighton cheerfully. "And I must trouble you with an old woman's wheezing waffle before we sink our teeth into our delicious feast. What a year it has been! Hopefully your heads are all a little fuller than they were … you have the whole summer ahead to get them nice and empty before next year starts …

"Now, as I understand it, the House Cup needs awarding and the points stand thus: in fourth place, Lion-Heart, with two hundred and sixty-two points; in third, Badger-Stripes, with three hundred and fifty-two; Raven-Wings have four hundred and twenty-six and Snake-Eyes, four hundred and seventy-two."

A storm of cheering and stamping broke out from the Snake-Eyes table. I could see Malty banging her goblet on the table. It was a sickening sight.

"Yes, yes, well done Snake-Eyes," said Crighton. "However, recent events must be taken into account."

The room went very still. The Snake-Eyes' smiles faded a little.

"Ahem," said Crighton. "I have a few last-minute points to dish out. Let me see. Yes …

"First – to Miss Christina Dawson …"

Chrissie went purple in the face.

" … for the best-played game of chess Dragon Mort has seen in many years, I award Lion-Heart house fifty points."

Lion-Heart cheers nearly reached the bewitched ceiling; the stars overhead seemed to quiver. Perdy could be heard telling the other Prefects, "One of my cousins, you know! One of my youngest cousins! Got past Darbus' giant chess set!"

At last there was silence again.

"Second – to Miss Sian Dawson … for the use of cool logic in the face of fire, I award Lion-Heart house fifty points."

Sian beamed at her mother, who beamed back at her with pride in her eyes; and for Sian, her mother's praise made what she did worthwhile. Lion-Hearts up and down the Lion-Heart table were beside themselves – we were a hundred points up.

"Third – to Mr Christopher Rickers … whose needs were good for those he cared about in great peril, fifty points."

A roar like a lion's echoed inside the Great Hall as Lion-Hearts went mad with cheering.

"Fourth – to Miss Kiara Pride-Lander …" said Crighton. The room went deadly quiet. " … for pure nerve and outstanding courage, I award Lion-Heart sixty points."

The din was deafening. Those who could add up while yelling themselves hoarse knew that Lion-Heart had four hundred and seventy-two points – exactly the same as Snake-Eyes. We had drawn for the House Cup – if Crighton had given me just one more point.

Crighton raised her hand. The room gradually fell silent.

"There are all kinds of courage," said Crighton, smiling. "It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends. I therefore award ten points to Miss Nikita Bore."

Someone standing outside the Great Hall might well have thought some sort of explosion had taken place, so loud was the noise that erupted from the Lion-Heart table. Chris, Sian, Chrissie and I stood up to yell and cheer as Nikita, white with shock, disappeared under a pile of people hugging her. She had never won so much as a point for Lion-Heart before then. I was still cheering when I looked at Chris and Chrissie and pointed at Malty, who couldn't have looked more stunned and horrified if she'd just had the Body-Bind curse put on her.

"Which means," Crighton called over the storm of applause, for even Raven-Wings and Badger-Stripes were celebrating the downfall of Snake-Eyes, "we need a little change of decoration."

She clapped her hands. In an instant, the green hangings became scarlet and the silver became gold; the huge Snake-Eyes serpent vanished and a towering Lion-Heart lion took its place. Triphorm was shaking Professor Darbus' hand, with a horrible forced smile. She caught my eye and I knew at once that Triphorm's feelings for me hadn't changed one jot. This didn't worry me. It seemed as though life would be back to normal next year, or as normal as it ever was at Dragon Mort.

It was one of the best evenings of my life that one, better than winning at Quidditch or Christmas or knocking out mountain trolls … I would never, ever forget that night. I still haven't, and I never will. Never!

0000

I had almost forgotten that the exam results were still to come, but come they did. To our great surprise, me, Chris and Chrissie passed with good marks; Sian, of course, came top of the year. Even Nikita scraped through, her good Herbology mark making up for her abysmal Potions one. We had hoped that Gabber, who was almost as stupid as she was mean, might be thrown out, but she had passed, too. It was a shame for us, but as Chrissie said, you couldn't have everything in life.

And suddenly, our wardrobes were empty, our trunks were packed, Nikita's toad was found lurking in a corner of the toilets; notes were handed out to all students, warning us not to use magic over the holidays ("I always hope they'll forget to give us these," said Tanya Fang sadly); Mina was there at the school gates to take us to the water portal that would take us back to the opposite shore so we could get into our subs; we climbed down the stone steps into the subs – which had pulled up to the steps this time to let us in – and we got in the subs and we were then underwater; I was with the Dawsons in their special sub; we were talking and laughing as we rolled through the deep blue; eating All-Flavour Beans as we sped on through the cool waters; taking off our uniforms and changing into Muggle clothes; then we felt claws pulling us out of the water and raising us into the air. They juddered and stopped, and then the doors opened and we got off.

We could see all our families standing below, waiting to greet us. I couldn't see my grandmothers or Mr Dawson, but we knew they were there to welcome us.

"You must come and stay with us this summer, Kiara," said Chrissie. "I'll send you an owl."

"Thanks," I said. "I'll ask my grandmothers about it later."

People jostled us as we walked down stairs towards the gathering crowd of friends and family. Some of them called:

"Bye, Kiara!"

"Laters, Pride-Lander!"

"See ya next year, Pridey!"

"Still famous?" said Chris, grinning at me.

"I'll still be quite famous where I'm going , I promise you," I said.

When we got to the bottom of the staircase, we looked around and walked through the crowd. We saw them there, close by the wall. I saw my grandmother Sarabi first, who was beaming at me with pride and relief. I ran to her.

"Grandmother Sarabi!" I yelled as we embraced.

"Oh, my darling!" she said, laughing in relief. "Ah, it's so good to see you safe and whole." She kissed me on the head and we hugged again.

Then I turned to Grandmother Sarafina. "Grandmother Sarafina!" I said, as we embraced.

"Oh, Kiara," she said. "It's been that long since I've seen your face, I almost forgot what you looked like!" We chuckled and hugged again.

I turned and saw Sian hugging her father. When they let go, the four Dawsons – I considered Chris as one of them – looked at me.

"Busy year?" said Mr Dawson.

"Very," I said. "Thanks for the basket of sweets you sent me, Mr Dawson."

"You're welcome, love."

"Right, shall we go, then?" asked Grandmother Sarabi.

"Yes, I'm ready. But just a minute." I hung back for a last minute chat with Chris, Sian and Chrissie.

"I'll see you over summer."

"I hope we do," said Sian, "although, I'm not sure whether you'll see me or not at home, because Ma always takes me somewhere on holiday."

"Oh, where's she taking you, S.D.?"

"I don't know. She didn't tell me. She says she's keeping it a secret until we get there, like she does every summer. I hate it when she does that … annoying nagging woman!"

"Sian!" I said, surprised.

"Ah, don't worry, she already knows," said Sian, with a wave of her hand. "Anyhoo, you'll see me when you see me."

"Yeah, well I'm going to have a nice summer," I said. "You see, my aunt, uncle and cousin don't know we're not allowed to use magic outside school. I'm going to have a lot of fun teasing my cousin this summer."

"Just make sure you don't take the teasing _too_ far, Kiara!" said Sian shrewdly.

"Don't worry, I won't," I said to her, and Sian's expression relaxed. Then together, my family and the Dawsons walked through the barrier, which led us once more to the huge water slide, which we all were quickly swept away on, and then we came out of the drain pipe. I could see my grandmother's car and a black car just behind it, which I figured must belong to the Dawsons. Before I went anywhere else, Sian held me back for one minute more. She got something out of her bag and handed it to me. It was small, gold and I could hold it in my hand. It was a mobile phone.

"Ma bought this for you because she knew you don't have one and now you do," she said. "This has Chris,Chrissie's and my phone numbers on it, so if you don't feel like sending us an owl, just give us a call, OK?" I nodded. She smiled, and walked to her car. We waved to each other and then we went our separate ways.

And that my fellow reader concludes the first year of my journey to defeat Zira. I hope you have enjoyed it and I hope you will enjoy my next instalment. Until the next time, thank you for buying this book and reading it and in a final word …

_Farewell!_

0000

**Well, I hope that you all really enjoyed the first book. One more chapter to go and we'll be done with this one. Please R&amp;R and spread this story to your friends if they like this stuff. Thank you.**


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

**EXPLANATIONS AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS**

**Hey, everybody. Thank you all for reading my story. This has been the first in the series of Kiara Pride-Lander stories, and book two will be coming to you very soon. Just for the record, I have used parodies from different books and movies to help me with this story, and if you look closely, you will be able to see them. These are:**

_**The Prince of Egypt**_

_**Tangled**_

_**Brave**_

_**Night World**_** (for inspiration for the Soul Mate Theory)**

_**W.I.T.C.H.**_

_**TinkerBell**_** (inspiration for the Mirror of Wishes)**

_**The Adjustment Bureau**_** (ask people who have seen the movie what that's about. It's the influence for chapter 5, just so you know)**

_**Narnia**_** (for the Flower People)**

_**Frozen**_

_**Pan's Labyrinth**_

**There could be some others in there that I haven't mentioned, but that's only because I can't think of them right now, so when you read this again, please think of them. I hope you have all enjoyed this story. Please R&amp;R and I will see you real soon. Oh, and before I go, more of Sian's character will be revealed to you as the series goes on, because she is a very complex character, who has a lot of different aspects to her personality. But, more on that later. And for those of you who have followed me, I have written another book, which is in the **_**Jane Eyre**_** Fanfic section, so read that if you are interested in that kind of stuff. For now though, this has been book 1 in the Kiara Pride-Lander series and I will write again soon. So until the next time I write, this is K.J.A. here, signing off.**


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